When Evil Fights Back
by The Equestrian Writer
Summary: Set after Full Circle. Morgan thought everything was over after she killed Selene, and defeated Ciaran. But a new evil has emerged, an evil so powerful Morgan may not be able to defeat it on her own. She may need help, from someone different.
1. Vision

**A/N: **This story is a collaboration with Golden Immortality. I am writing the Sweep part, and she's writing the House of Night part. It is our first time writing together. Some of you are probably thinking this should be in the crossover section, but this is the Sweep version and Golden Immortality is doing the House of Night version. They are two stories w/the same title. Mine is Sweep with the HoN characters coming in later. Whether you're a fan of the HoN series or the Sweep series, please tell us what you think.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Sweep series, that right belongs to the wonderful Cate Tiernan, who created these wonderful characters.

**Summary: **Set after Full Circle. What happens when two evils you've defeated before comes back with vengeance? With Hunter trapped in a hostage takeover, Morgan must rely on a former love and new friends to defeat an even greater evil.

Okay, now enjoy the story. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

**Morgan**

The late afternoon sun streamed in through the windows, warming my face and body with its heat. I sighed, content to just lay here. A laugh from next to me made me open my eyes and I was staring into a pair of sparkling green eyes. A few wisps of light-blonde hair fell into his eyes and I reached up to brush them out of his face.

"What's so funny?" I asked him.

"You," Hunter answered, he was on his elbow, leaning over me. "The way you're just lying here, like it's the best thing in the whole world."

"Only because you're here with me," I told him, truthfully, wrapping my arms around his neck. Hunter's face turned completely serious and moved closer until our lips were only inches apart. His kiss was soft and short, but it filled me with love.

"I love you," he whispered, looking straight into my eyes.

"I love you, too," I whispered back. And, then, we were kissing again, except this time it was harder, more passionate than the last. Our tongues intertwined, as Hunter pressed even closer to me, so not even an inch of space was between our bodies. His hands traveled down my bare arms, sending a shiver through my body. I buried my hands in his short, spiky hair and moaning a little as he kissed along my jaw and down my neck. Closing my eyes and gripped his shoulders, reveling in his touch.

A small gasp escaped me when I felt his hands slide underneath my shirt, tracing soft circles over my stomach. I opened my eyes to see Hunter gazing at me with such intensity that if I was standing my legs would have given out right then.

"You're beautiful," Hunter breathed, taking one hand out of my shirt to stroke my long, brown hair. He leaned down to kiss me when a loud buzzing came from the side of his makeshift bed. Hunter buried his face in the nape of my neck as he let out a long sigh.

"Don't answer it," I told him in a whisper, my hands running through his soft, blonde hair. He picked his head up and our lips met in a brief kiss when the buzzing persisted. With another sigh, Hunter pulled himself away from me and picked up his cell phone. He answered it with a sharp hello and almost immediately his face set in a serious expression.

I sat up, pulling myself to the edge of the mattress, and slipped on my shoes. Giving Hunter some privacy, I slipped quietly from the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Sky was already there, putting a pot of tea on the stove, she looked up when I entered. Her short, blonde hair, identical to Hunter's, bobbed on her shoulders.

"Decided to come up for air?" Sky teased, a wide smile on her face. I couldn't help the blush that spread on my cheeks and ducked my face as I walked to the table to sit down.

"We- we were just...talking," I said, lamely.

"Uh-huh," I heard Sky say over the whistling of the tea kettle. She had just brought two cups filled with the steaming liquid to the table and sat down when Hunter came into the room. Sky quickly jumped up and started back to the teapot, but Hunter shook his head and that was when we both saw the look on his face.

"What's the matter?" we both asked in unison.

He waited until Sky was seated before starting. "That was Kennet, just now on the phone," Hunter said, looking at me.

"Wait, like from the council, Kennet? Your old mentor, Kennet?" Sky asked. Kennet was a part of the International Council of Witches, where Hunter worked as a seeker up until recently. Unhappy with the council's decisions Hunter had quit his job as a seeker, Kennet hadn't been happy about it. "What did he want?"

Hunter shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands. "I don't know how to put this," he sighed. "The council has lost track of Ciaran, they don't know where he is."

My heart seemed to skip a beat at the thought of my father out there somewhere. "But he still doesn't have any magick, right? He can't harm anyone." I heard myself say. But Hunter wasn't finished.

"A few days ago, the council also discovered that Selene and Cal's bodies were missing," Hunter finished. "No one was ordered to move them or had any plans to move them."

"But what would someone want with two dead bodies?" I asked.

Both Hunter and Sky looked at each with grim expressions on their faces, neither said anything. Cal and Selene were gone. I had watched Cal die right in front of me and I was the one who ended Selene's life. There was no way either of them could come back, right?

**Alisa**

I tapped my pencil against my notebook in time to the music blaring from the stereo speakers in my best friend, Mary K's room. Our friendship wasn't back to the way it was before I found I was half-blood witch, but we were getting there. I was sitting on the floor with my back against the bed, Mary K. was lying on top of it.

"What do you think if I dyed my hair blonde?" came her voice over the blare of the music. Thank the goddess, Morgan wasn't home or she'd be in here yelling at us to turn it down.

"You look good the way you are," I told her honestly, turning around to face her, putting my homework aside. "I'm sure Mark does too."

Mary K. was silent for a moment, flipping a page of her magazine.

I got up to turn the stereo off and turned to face her. "Everything is okay with you and Mark, aren't they?" She gave a curt little nod, not looking at me. Not satisfied with that answer, I walked over and grabbed the magazine from her.

"Hey, I was looking at that!" she protested sitting up.

"I'll give it back," I told her, sitting beside her. "Once you tell me what's up with you and Mark?"

Mary K. looked down, her finger tracing patterns on her comforter. After a few minutes, she looked up at me, something shining in her eyes I couldn't quite name. "It's not working," she confessed. "I'm going to break up with him."

I was shocked, I hoped my mouth didn't drop open. I put my hand to my chin, just to be sure, it was still closed. "But you guys were really into each other. I thought-"

"Well, you thought wrong," Mary K. got up abruptly and went over to desk. She started to stack her textbooks and re-stacking them.

I thought for a moment before something registered in my mind. "Does this have anything to do with Bakker?" I asked quietly, speaking of her first boyfriend, who almost raped her. "Because if it is, you don't-"

"Why would you even bring him up?" Mary K. asked spinning around to face me, her voice raising in anger and defensiveness. "This has nothing to do with Bakker! It's just not working with Mark, ok! Now, if you'll excuse me, it's my night to make dinner."

With that, Mary K. stormed out of the room and I heard her go downstairs. I sat there on the bed, stunned at my friend's outburst. Though Mary K. didn't say it, this had everything to do with Bakker, and if she didn't admit it to herself soon, I didn't want to know what would happen.

**Morgan**

"Did Kennet give you any other details?" Alyce Fernbrake asked as Hunter, Sky, and I sat in the back of back room of Practical Magick, the occult store the older woman owned. We all sat around the small table, mugs of steaming tea untouched in front of us.

Hunter shook his head, "I'm not on the council anymore, he wasn't even supposed to tell me anything." he answered. "But he thought he owed it to us to let us know." I leaned back in my chair, taking a sip of my tea.

"I think we should try scrying," Sky spoke up. "I mean, it couldn't hurt."

"No, it couldn't," Alyce agreed and Hunter nodded. He pulled out his lueg, a flat piece of obsidian stone he used for scrying. He murmured the spell that would allow us to see what the stone wanted to show us. When he was finished, we all leaned over to look into the stone.

At first, I didn't see anything and then all of a sudden images started to swirl in and out. Finally, they solidified and it was like I was actually inside the stone, witnessing what was unfolding.

_I was inside a large bare room, with two doors at the back leading someplace else. There were people scattered throughout the room, mostly consisting of my friends, Hunter and Sky and even my sister, Mary K. There were also some I didn't recognize, most had sapphire/scarlet half-moon crescents on their foreheads. Two had full tattoos on their faces, one in particular stood out from the rest. She had blonde hair and she had scarlet red tattoos._

Who are these people? I thought to myself.

_As it panned across the large room, I saw two figures that filled the stone. One I recognized, the other I didn't._

_He was tall and looked not much older than me, his chest, which was shirtless, was chiseled. He had long raven-black hair and huge ebony wings. I could feel the fear welling up inside me just from looking at him. He looked dangerous and seductive at the same time._

_The other one was Selene Belltower._

All at once, the image winked out and I was back in Practical Magick with my friends. No one spoke for what seemed like a long time. We were all no doubt trying to come up with some explanation for what we just saw. It didn't make any sense.

"What does it mean?" I was the first to speak.

"It means something is coming," Alyce said. "Something no one has even encountered before and we'd all better be ready when it does."

"But where was that place?" Sky asked, picking up her cup of tea and then putting it down again, without drinking it. "I mean, I haven't seen any place it could be. Have you?"

"Not exactly," Everybody turned to look at Hunter when he answered. "There are a few abandoned warehouses in downtown Widow's Vale. I think that's where it is."

"How do you know?" I asked him.

"I saw a crumpled sheet of paper on the floor," Hunter explained. "It has a picture of the library on it from a few years ago."

I immediately admired his investigative skills, I hadn't even seen the paper he was describing I was too busy taking in the horrific scene. Both Alyce and Sky were nodding, seeming to agree with what Hunter was saying.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

Hunter looked from me to Sky and back again. "Tomorrow, we find this warehouse," he explained. "And we go from there."

**Selene**

Cal Blaire walked into his mother's secret library, a backpack slung over his shoulder, inside their huge mansion in Widow's Vale. Selene Belltower sat at her expansive desk, seeming to have expected his arrival. She looked him up and down as if assessing him for any type of injury. Assured that he was unharmed, Selene threw him a smile.

"What can I do for you, my son?" she asked him.

"I don't want anything to do with whatever you're planning," Cal said simply. "I'm leaving."

Selene laughed. "Do you really think you can just leave?" she questioned him. "I brought you back to this world, you belong to me."

Cal narrowed his gold-colored eyes, when another voice came from behind him. "I believe that would be me." it said. Cal turned to see the man with the ebony wings strut into the room, eyes focused on Selene.

"Kalona, how nice of you to join us," Selene greeted him. She sounded friendly, but Cal heard the note of irritation in her voice. "I was just informing my son on how he came to be here now."

"Indeed," Kalona said, barely glancing at Cal. "And I'm assure you told him I can just as well take your lives away as I gave them back to you."

This time it was Selene's turned to glare at him.

Cal cleared his throat. "Like I said, I'm leaving." And before anyone could stop him, Cal strode from the room without a backward glance.

"It's a shame when you devote all you time into your sons, molding them into what you want," Kalona said, walking closer to her. "And in the end, they just throw it all back in your face." When he finished, Kalona was leaning over her chair, inches from her face. Selene didn't pull back or pull him closer, instead she held her ground.

"He'll be back," Selene replied, staring him in his eyes. She waited until he had inched closer before lifting her hand and shot blue witch fire at him. Kalona fell backwards onto the floor, but immediately regained his feet, rage showing on his features. Selene stood as well.

"You just made a serious error-" Kalona started.

"I am fully aware of what I just did," Selene snapped at him, fire burning in her gold-colored eyes. "I am in this for one thing; to see Morgan Rowlands destroyed. I don't care about you or what you're so-called mate wants. I want revenge, no I want blood. And no one is going to get in my way of getting that."

When she finished, Selena pushed past Kalona towards the door of the library. As she disappeared into the hallway, she called back to him. "And I thought I told you, I don't what your vermin in my house!"

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><p><strong>AN: **I hoped you liked it and want to read more. Please review and tell me what you think. :)


	2. Something in the Night

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Sweep series, that right belongs to the wonderful Cate Tiernan, who created these wonderful characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**Morgan**

"Okay, well, call me if you find anything," I said to Hunter that night as I talked to him over the phone. He was planning on checking out a few of the warehouses downtown, just him and Sky tomorrow, to see if they could find anything relating to the vision. I had wanted to go with them, but Hunter had insisted I stay home, in case there was something dangerous happening in one of those warehouses, he didn't want me in the middle of it. I had argued that I could handle whatever came at me, but Hunter was persistent. So, I was staying where it was safe.

"I will, I promise," Hunter replied, his voice low and his accent chilling me to the bone. "We're going to find Ciaran before he can hurt you again." We talked for a few more minutes, just talking about everything and nothing at the same time, neither one of us wanted to be the first to hang up. In the end, Hunter was the one who hung up first and I immediately felt the ache for him down in the core of my being.

Placing the phone on my bedside table, I leaned back against my pillows with a sigh. My eyes slid to my closed closet doors, an idea slowly forming in my head. Quickly, before I could talk myself out of it, I leaped off the bed and flew to the closet, throwing open the doors. I had just slid out the small footlocker from the back of the closet, which stood as my makeshift alter when I heard a soft knock at my door.

"Morgan? Are you busy?" my younger sister's voice floated through the closed door and I jumped at not sensing her approach. I quickly shoved the locker back inside the closet and closed the doors. Jumping into the chair at my desk and flipping open a textbook, pretending to have been doing homework I told my sister to come in.

A second later, Mary K. came into the room, wearing pink pajama bottoms and a matching pink tank top her long, not as long as mine, brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that was draped over one shoulder. She sat down on my bed and I watched her pull her legs up under her, the whole time she never met my steady gaze.

"Is everything okay?" I asked her, turning completely in my chair, so that I faced her directly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Mary K. answered, running her hand across my comforter and then finally picking her head up to look at me.

"I don't know," I shrugged, hoping she'd say what was bothering her. She stayed silent. "Mary K-"

"How did you move on...after Cal?" Mary K. suddenly asked, taking me completely by surprise. I got up and came to sit beside her on the bed.

"Is that what this is about?" I questioned her. "About Bakker?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm still hung up on him?" Mary K. suddenly exclaimed jumping up from the bed. "First Alisa, now you. I am over him, he has nothing-"

"Mary K., it's okay," I said, pulling her back down. I took a deep breath and continued. "It wasn't easy, not by a long shot. I mean, I loved Cal and I thought he loved me too. After he left, I wasn't sure I would be able to be close to anyone again, especially Hunter. But after some time and getting to know Hunter, I realized that I hadn't closed my heart to love and I could be with someone who truly cares and loves me."

Mary K. looked up at me, her brown eyes searching mine. "I'm happy for you, I really am, but why haven't I been able to move on? It's not like _he_... you know."

I pulled my sister into a hug just then, holding her tightly. "And I'm so grateful for that," I whispered, I pulled back, holding her at arms' length. "But he almost did and, Mary K., that's still lot to try to get past. The first relationship you have after that is bound to be hard, but you have to keep moving forward because you're letting Bakker win and that's what he wants. I'm so proud at how far you've come already and I know you can do this."

Mary K. nodded and wiped at a few tears that had escaped during my little speech. "Hey, how about we go shopping tomorrow?" I suggested, handing her a tissue. "I'll even let you pick out some stuff for me,"

Mary K. couldn't help but laugh. "Are you sure? 'Cause I'm going to hold you to that," she said getting up from my bed. "We haven't been shopping together in a long time and you are long overdue for a new wardrobe," With that, she started walking over to the door.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I called after her, but she only waved me off before disappearing out the door, no doubt already planning my new outfit. I groaned inwardly, already regretting my decision. But I didn't dwell on that for too long. After locking my door and putting up some barrier spells, I pulled my makeshift alter back out of my closet. Slipping out of my clothes, I pulled on my hunter green robe, which had belonged to my biological mother, Maeve Riordan.

I drew a chalk circle on the floor, stepped in and closed the circle. Kneeling in front of the alter, I invoked the four elements and then I turned my attention to the flickering flame on the candle. I always felt a strange connection to fire, something I had inherited from my mother. She, too, liked to work with fire. Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind of all thoughts, concentrating only on the small, flickering flame. Then, quietly, I started speaking the words of a spell.

"_I feel something coming,_

_something that could destroy everyone I care about._

_Please show me what it is and how I can stop it."_

Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw that the flame had expanded and I could see images started to blink into focus. At first, I wasn't sure what I was looking at, but then the silhouette of wolf appeared before my eyes. My heart started beating fast, afraid that I was right of what it meant. Then the image was gone and another one took its place. This time it was a person. A girl, about my age it looked like, with some Cherokee features. Her long, black hair framed her face, her onyx-colored eyes stared right at me and she seemed to be saying something. But the one thing that stuck out was the intricate sapphire- blue tattoos that started on her forehead and continued down to frame her cheekbones. And suddenly, the image of the mysterious girl was gone and the fire was an ordinary flame once again.

I sat there for a moment, trying to process what I had just seen. Who was this girl? And what did she have to do with whatever was happening? I shivered remembering the wolf, knowing instantly that it was Ciaran, my biological father. A few months ago, he had shown me how to shape-shift, turning himself into a large, grey wolf. I tried to convince myself that he was longer a threat, Hunter had stripped him of his powers and he was now living in a place in Scotland. It didn't work.

After a few minutes of just sitting there and not coming up with any answers, I dismantled my circle and shoved my alter back into my closet. I slipped off Maeve's robe, folding it up and putting at the bottom of my dresser, I pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Crawling into bed, I shut off the light and lay there in the dark, trying to come up with answers to the vision. All I succeeded in doing was giving myself a headache. I turned onto my side, temporarily giving up, I would sleep on it and then discuss it tomorrow with Hunter.

**Cal**

I couldn't go back. I wouldn't. I don't know how I came back to life, but I had gotten this second chance and I was going to do it right this time. My mother would no longer influence my decisions, control my life. I was severing all ties with her and breaking out on my own. Join a new coven, maybe, someplace far away from Selene Belltower.

I hitched my pack higher on my shoulder and kept walking along the road. I desperately wished I had my car, but I hadn't wanted to risk that Selene had spelled it somehow. At least, I had thought to steal some cash from the safe she thinks she's kept hidden from me. I smiled at the thought of her finding the nearly five hundred dollars missing.

My plan was to head to the city, clear my head and decide where I wanted to start my new life from there. But before I left, there was one thing I had to do first. Something I wouldn't forgive myself for if I didn't at least try. I had to warn Morgan to what Selene was planning on doing. She may not want to listen to me, heck she may not even believe I'm really here, but I had to make her understand what she was up against.

Before I knew it, I was on her street and looking up at her darkened house. It was late, I knew, but I had held out hope that she would still be awake, being the night owl that she is. No such luck. Her room was dark. Despite my reservations, I didn't want to wake her, she deserved a peaceful night sleep before I dumped everything on her, after everything I'd done to her I owed at least that much.

So, switched my pack to my other shoulder, I cloaked my presence and trudged toward the backyard. I settled myself between two trees far enough away so that I wouldn't be seen, but still close enough to tell what was going on. I pulled a thermos out my pack and took a few sips of the coffee it held. Afterwords, I pulled my jacket tighter, it wasn't freezing, but the temperature had definitely dropped, and leaned against the tree, determined to at least get a few hours sleep.

_Sgath._

My eyes snapped open at the sound of my mother's voice. I knew she had called only by a witch message, but I couldn't help looking over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't anywhere nearby. She wasn't there and I didn't answer her. It was only a matter of time til she found out I was gone, I guess I was hoping I would be farther away when she did. Nonetheless, she had which meant I only had a limited amount of time before she came after me or sent someone to fetch me as if I was some disobedient dog who had ran away from home.

_Sgath, come home, _her voice came again. _We need to talk._

I snorted back a laugh. If she actually thought I was going back, she had another thing coming. I was no longer her puppet she could pull the strings of and she knew it. I did a spell to block her from reaching out to me again and again tried to get some sleep this time.

**Morgan**

I felt the presence even before I was fully awake. Someone was outside. I shot up out of bed and hurried to my window that overlooked the backyard. It took a second for my magesight to set in, but once it did I could see every detail of the yard. A few leaves rustled on the ground, but besides that everything seemed normal. But I still felt something, it wasn't as strong as before, but I could still detect the barest hint of someone lurking outside. It sent chills racing up my spine and goosebumps to erupt on my arms.

Movement at the edge of the trees drew my gaze toward the old tire swing my dad hung for Mary K. and I when we were younger, but it was only a squirrel that jumped it to the tree it hung from. But if I squinted hard enough I could make out small movements of the leaves that hung dangerously low on the next tree.

_Show yourself. _I mouthed the words, my breath steaming up the glass as I did so. And just like that, the movements stopped as if whatever it was had sensed I was trying to reach out toward it.

_Who are you?_

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><p><strong>AN: **If anybody is reading this story, please review and tell what you or what I could improve on. I love hearing what anyone has to say, even if it's just a 'good job'. So, please review and let me know what you think.


	3. And so it begins

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate hearing what you have to say about the story. I know you all don't want me to ramble on and on, so I'll just get on with the chapter already. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Sweep series, that right belongs to the wonderful Cate Tiernan, who created these wonderful characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

**Morgan**

Sunlight suddenly illuminated my once dark room and my sister's high-pitch voice pierced my ears as I groaned and pulled the covers up over my head. I could still hear her telling me to get up through the blankets and I groaned even louder, hoping she would get the message. She didn't. Because the next thing I knew the blankets were ripped from my body and I was blasted with cold air.

I shot up out of bed and face my sister, who was standing there innocently, smiling. "Mary K!" I started reaching for my comforter that she threw on the floor. "It's five minutes after eight. Can't you wait for a decent hour to go shopping!"

Mary K. quickly scooped up my comforter before I could and darted to the far end of my room. "You know what they say, the early bird gets the best deals on all the fashionable clothes." she smiled, tossing my comforter into the closet.

"Who says that?" I asked, running my hands through my hair. It is way too early to have to put up with Mary K's cheerfulness.

"That's not important," she says from within my closet. She suddenly pops out with a pair of dark wash jeans and a blue-striped v-neck sweater in her arms. "Here wear these." She drops the clothes on the foot of my bed and bounces out of my room through the bathroom we share. "Hurry up!" She calls over her shoulder.

About ten minutes later, I am showered and dressed and headed downstairs to get some caffeine in me. I was feeling grouchier than usual and the only thing that could make me feel any better was a diet coke. No, actually that would be Hunter, but seeing as he's busy today and didn't want my help, the soda would have to do.

"Mary K. told me that you two are going shopping today," my mother, Mary Grace Rowlands, said from her spot in front of the stove where she was making breakfast. I nodded, feeling my body wake up after the first gulp of soda. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, hiding a grin, "She also said that it was your idea."

I was saved from replying by Mary K., herself, flouncing into the room, clad in denim skinny jeans, a black cardigan over a soft pink camisole with black ankle boots. She grabbed a yogurt from the fridge and sat down at the table, opposite our father, who read the morning paper.

"I marked off the stores with the best sales, so that you won't have to suffer through millions of them," Mary K said putting a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth.

"Great," I managed a smile, but I found myself excited to spend the day with my sister even if I would be was shopping all day long.

**Hunter**

"Jeez, what a dump," Sky commented when I turned onto Mission avenue that was on the very edge of Widow's Vale. It was an old dilapidated neighborhood, with rows and rows of apartment buildings. An occasional house popped up here and there. "You wouldn't believe people actually lived here. It makes our house look a like a palace."

I nodded absentmindedly, watching a young woman walk up to one of the apartment buildings holding the hand of a disgruntled toddler and in the other a squirming bundle of a newborn baby. Across the street was an elderly man mowing the grass in front of a small cottage-like house that sat a little ways off the street. Neither one were blood witches, but I asked the Goddess anyway to aid the two in making their lives better.

The farther down we went the apartments turned into empty warehouses, some in better shape than others, but nonetheless abandoned. I sighed, seeing the long line of warehouses. There was no way we would be able to check them all out today. I pulled the car over to the side of the road, we have to start somewhere, and shut off the engine. We sat there for a minute, each collecting our thoughts.

"This one seems in better condition then the rest," Sky broke the silence, pointing to the building we sat in front of. She was right. The building's structure looked solid and not in any danger of falling down.

"Let's go," I said getting out of the car. We made our way up the cracked cement walkway, but before we even got up to the door I could see that it was padlocked. I stopped with a sigh, looked up at the building and started casting out my senses. I felt Sky doing the same.

"There's no one inside now or recent," Sky said, reaching the same conclusion I have. "This place has been empty for a very long time and nobody's disturbed that."

"And there's no lingering traces of magick in or around it," I added before abruptly turning. "On to the next."

We hadn't gotten that far when we were stopped in our tracks by a strange croaking sound. We stared at each other, at the sudden darkened sky, trying to figure out where it was coming from. It continued for a few more minutes until it stopped and we heard the ruffle of wings as whatever it was flew off.

"That was weird," Sky commented, once it was silent again. She pulled her black leather jacket tighter around her, while my brown leather one flapped in the sudden wind. "Must have been some kind of bird, like a hawk or something."

"Or something," I muttered, feeling a chill go up my spine and it had nothing to with the cold.

**Morgan**

"What about this one?" Mary K. asked, holding up yet another mini denim skirt, but this one had fuchsia flowers threaded onto the pockets. "It's cute," she added, holding the skirt up to her and stepping in front of a mirror.

"It's too short," I tell her, adjusting my hold on the shirts I was carrying. Ignoring me, she draped the skirt on top of my ever-growing pile and moved onto the next rack. I didn't argue with her, I would just put it back when she wasn't looking, like I've been doing for the past hour.

"Okay, I'm done here," Mary K. said suddenly, turning away from the clothes she was looking at and came back to me. "Let's hit the dressing rooms and then we can check out."

"Sounds good," I replied following my sister as she led the way to the dressing rooms.

It was twenty minutes later by the time we left the store. Leave it to Mary K. to try on two different shirts with three different pairs of pants. Add in the numerous times she ran back to get something in a different size for me, even though I had insisted the original one was fine. By the time we had gotten to the checkout line, it was a mile long.

"Where to next?" I asked her.

"The lingerie store," she answered brightly.

I stared at her.

"For you," Mary K. clarified, then added when she saw the look I gave her. "Don't worry it won't be anything to revealing, just a little something to make Hunter hot for you, like he's not already."

Quickly, so that she wouldn't see the blush creeping over my cheeks, I hurried on ahead. "Why did I ever suggest to go shopping with you?" I muttered, but she still heard me.

"Because I'm your sister and you would do anything for me," Mary K. bounded up to me and looped an arm through mine. I smiled, knowing she was right.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time we got home, it was mid-afternoon and the back seat was piled high with bags. I had pulled in the driveway and shut off the engine when Mary K. finished a text.

"Alisa's coming over," she said, shoving her phone in her pocket. "She'll be here in ten minutes. I'm going to show her all the new clothes I got!"

I nodded as we both got out and started getting the bags from the back seat. "Doesn't look like mom and dad are here," I mused as we started up the walk to the house.

"They said something about catching a movie today," Mary K. said walking ahead of me. I had just gotten to the door when I realized I had left my keys in the car. Fortunately, Mary K. had her key to unlock the door.

I set my bags just inside the door and then told her, "I forgot my keys in the car, can you take my bags to my room?" She nodded as she continued up the stairs. I hurried outside and jogged to Das Boot. Throwing open the car door, I grabbed the keys from the ignition. That's when I felt it.

Everything went quiet. Dead quiet. My senses tingled as I heard the click of stiletto heels hitting the pavement. I spun around to see a woman standing in my driveway.

She radiated beauty in a simple black, satin gown with long, auburn-red hair cascading down her back. Her bright green eyes, unlike Hunter's, bore right into me, piercing me right to my soul. She had blue markings across her brow and down the sides of her face, making her look like some mystical being sent to earth. But what terrified me most of all was the billowing mass of dark shadows that swarmed around her feet and inched up along her slender body.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked nervously.

She smiled, her scarlet-red lips parting slowly. "You do look so much like your father, don't you?" her voice sent chills down my spine. She moved a few steps closer and I couldn't help the involuntary step back I took.

"You know my father?" I asked her.

She smiled even more. "I know your father quite well and he would like to see you,"

"Well, you can tell him that I want nothing to do with him," I told her. I turned around to go back inside, but before I can move, she's there in front of me again.

"I'm sorry, that's not part of the plan," she said, the smile gone from her face. "If you have a problem with your father, you'll have to take it up with him. I'm no one's messenger."

As she spoke, she held a hand out to the side and raked a long, red fingernail across the palm of her hand. She didn't even flinch when blood dripped from her hand. The shadows around her feet caught the droplet of blood before it hit the ground and wrapped itself around her hand. Her eyes closed, reveling in the feel of the shadows drinking her blood.

I began to call on the ancient Riordan power chant and building magickal defenses as well. The woman's eyes snapped open then, those green eyes, those cruel and terrifying eyes burning right through me.

"Just as he predicted," she spoke and I wasn't sure if it was to me or herself. The power chant died on my lips and I grasped at emptiness for them, but it was no use. They were gone. My mental defenses gone as well.

"Now," she continued and the shadows started to drift away from her and inch toward me. "You are going to come with me, quietly. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your innocent young sister, do you?"

The shadows were within touching distance now. Anger and worry boiled up inside me at the mention of Mary K. "What did you do to her?" I demanded, my voice surprisingly strong.

"Nothing yet," she replied. "As long as you do as I say, she will come to in about an hour, two at the most."

"If you hurt her, I'll-" But I didn't get to finish because of the sudden cold that seeped into my body. I looked down to the shadows enveloping my feet and legs, climbing higher. I tried to kick out with my legs, but I couldn't move, I was frozen in place. I tried to shoot witch fire at it, but it was useless, the shadows just absorbed it.

Meanwhile, the woman laughed. The shadows gripped me harder and it felt like my insides were being shredded. I started to scream, but it died on my lips when the shadows clamped down on my nose and mouth. I could feel myself start to get lightheaded and my vision blurred. The last thing I heard before the darkness claimed me was the woman saying.

"For a powerful witch, you didn't protect your magick better. Someone might come along and steal it."

**Mary K.**

"Mary K! Mary K., wake up!"

I opened my eyes, feeling like I've woken up from a bad dream. But I hadn't, at least not one I could remember. I couldn't even remember falling asleep. My mouth felt like I'd stuffed cotton balls into it. After blinking my eyes a few times, I could see Alisa standing over me.

"Have a nice nap?" she asked as I sat up. "You were really out when I got here."

"When was that?" I mumbled, not sure if she could hear me. I got up and headed to the bathroom to get a drink of water.

"Only a few minutes ago," Alisa answered following me into the bathroom. The half a glass of water did nothing, my head was still foggy. So, I went downstairs for a diet coke, if it worked for Morgan, it should at least clear my mind.

"Is Morgan out with Hunter?" Alisa asked as I drank the soda.

I swallowed and answered, "No, we just came back from shopping. She said Hunter was busy today. Why?"

Alisa shrugged. "It's just that the front door was opened and shopping bags were on the floor like she left in a hurry or something," she said. A sense of panic filled me as I rushed to the front door. It was closed, but the bags were still on the floor.

"Morgan!" I called up the stairs. I waited a couple of seconds for a response before I called again, this time running up the stairs to her room. I flung the door open to her room. Morgan wasn't here and it looked like she hadn't been since this morning. I tried to remember if I had seen a note Morgan might have left. None.

_What happened?_ I asked myself. _And how did I fall asleep when I don't even remember being tired?_

"What's going on?" Alisa asked, coming up behind me. I shook my head, unable to speak. I went to my room to get my cell phone and dialed Morgan's number. _She probably is with Hunter. _I tried to reassure myself. _But why wouldn't she leave a note? Especially, since I was apparently sleeping._

The sound of faraway ringing broke me out of my thoughts. It was coming from outside. I looked out my window and saw Das Boot still parked in the driveway and a small black phone lay on the ground next to it.

"Maybe she didn't realize she dropped it when Hunter picked her up," Alisa suggested when she came to stand beside me. But it sounded like she was grasping at straws.

"Maybe," I said as I punched in Hunter's number. He didn't answer. I tried two more times and he still didn't answer. "Come one, Hunter! Why can't you answer your damn phone!"

I sat down on my bed and tried to calm down. Getting upset wouldn't help Morgan. I had to think rational. Bree. Morgan could be over at Bree's house. I quickly dialed Bree's number and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hey Bree, it's Mary K.," I breathed a sigh of relief when she answered. "Is Morgan there?"

"No, she's not," I felt my heart sink as she spoke. "It's just Robbie and I here. Why? Is something wrong?"

"It's Morgan," I told her, on the verge of tears. "She's not here, and she didn't leave a note and her phone is still here. I tried calling Hunter, but he's not picking up and I have this really bad feeling that won't go away. Bree, I'm really scared."

"Mary K., it's okay, just calm down," Bree said, her voice sounding controlled and sure. "Call your parents and stay there. Robbie and I are coming over."

**Hunter**

"C'mon, Hunter, it's cold, dark, and I'm hungry!" Sky complained as we walked back to my car. We hadn't found any evidence of people, witches or non-witches, or magick in any warehouse we looked in. If it hadn't gotten dark, I would keep at it until I found something. Sky looked back at me when she felt me lagging. "C'mon, you promised me a cheeseburger!"

"I did not," I said when I caught up with her.

"It was implied," Sky replied. "When you asked me to do this with you. Little did I know it was going to take all day." We reached the car and Sky went around the the passenger's side.

"Sky, hold up," I stopped her as I froze in my own tracks.

"Seriously, Hunter, if you don't get in this car now, I am going to put you in myself," Sky sighed, exasperated. "We can come back tomorrow and check out more warehouses if you really want to."

"No, it's not that. Look," I told her and pointed to the tires that were all slashed.

"You're kidding, right!" Sky ranted. I kneeled down to examine one of the tires, while Sky went on. "Of all the times to be stranded..."

I tuned her out and concentrated on the tire. There were no traces of magick and it was slashed haphazardly in two places. It was either done by some random teenager or someone who really didn't want them to leave.

My senses tingled and I felt the presence of many someones. They weren't blood witches, but I could feel power emanating from half of them. I looked toward Sky and said, "Sky, do you feel-"

"They're across the street," she interrupted me, her voice low. "The ones from the vision."

"Are you sure?" I asked her, straightening up and looking across the street. Just like she said, there were a group of teenagers looking lost and disoriented.

"Quite sure, they have the same tattoos," Sky confirmed. Now, I could see the red and blue tattoos on their faces. They all seemed shaken over something, they didn't even notice them. Until a blonde-haired and blue-eyed boy about sixteen looked away from the group and straight at us.

"Hunter!" Sky called after me when I started to cross the street toward the group. She hurried to catch up to me. "What exactly are you going to do? Interrogate them until they tell you everything they know? Hunter, stop and think for a minute." She reached out and tried to grab a hold of my arm, but I quickened my pace before she could.

"I am thinking," I told Sky. "And they know something, I can feel it."

By the time we reach them, the whole group is watching us. A girl with short blonde curls and blue eyes, stepped in front of the group, obviously assuming leadership. She was the only one in the group with red tattoos across her brow and down the sides of face, all the others' were blue.

"I'm Hunter Niall," I introduced myself, extending my hand toward her. "And this is my cousin, Sky Eventide."

The girl shook my outstretched hand greeted back, "I'm Stevie Rae Johnson," she gestured to everybody clustered around her. "These are my friends. Rephaim, Darius, Aphrodite, Damien, Jack, Erin, and Shaunee."

"Pleased to meet you," I replied. "It's awfully late for a bunch of teenagers to be out, especially in this part of town."

"I could say the same thing about you two," Stevie Rae said back.

"Point taken. Okay, first things first, you guys are-" I began to say.

"Well, those of us with the crescent moon outline are fledgeling vampyres," Stevie Rae explained, and then she gestured to herself and the well-muscled brown-haired guy. "Only Darius and I are vampyres with the complete mark."

"Oh, so you're..." I started to say when we heard the same loud croaking Sky and I heard earlier. Only this time, I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"There's that hawk again," Sky replied. She turned to me. "Do you think it might be hurt?"

"That's not a hawk," the young native american man with raven feathers braided into his long, black hair, Rephaim, stated. Until now, he had stayed close behind Stevie Rae almost like her shadow. I also noted that he was one of the only humans in the group.

"Okay, anyway, if you guys are vampyres that mean you feed on humans," I gestured to Rephaim and the tall, blonde girl, whose name I remembered was Aphrodite. "Are these two your next meal?"

"Ew, hell no will I be a human blood bag," Aphrodite sneered looking pointedly at Stevie Rae. Then she muttered under breath, but I still caught what she said. "I can't say the same thing about him."

"Okay, we're not completely dependent on blood," Stevie Rae explained. "Some of us crave it a little more than others, but that's it."

"So, what are you guys doing in this part of town?" I asked them. "It's not exactly the scenic route."

A moment later, I felt a small swirl of power surrounding Stevie Rae. It was only there for a second and then it was gone. But it left me staring at her in curiosity.

"Well, Aphrodite," Stevie Rae gestured to the other girl. "She had a vision about a bunch of hostages in one of these warehouses. Actually, we were the hostages, you two included."

I gaped at her. She'd caught me off-guard, something anyone rarely did. "We saw the same vision,"

"Well, shit," Aphrodite muttered.

"How is that possible?" Stevie Rae questioned. I could tell she was trying to mask her shock.

"We scryed using my scrying stone, us and two other blood witches," I stopped when a red BMW sped down the street and stopped by the curb three feet away from us. I knew exactly who it was even before Bree got out of the car followed by Robbie. Both of them looking worried about something.

"What are you doing here?" I asked them when Sky and I walked over to them. I spotted Mary K. and Alisa still in the back seat of the car. "What are they-"

"Hunter, Morgan's missing," Bree interrupted me.

It was like someone had sucker punched me in the stomach and I couldn't breathe. Everything had gone still and silent. I was trying to make sense of what Bree had just said. No, Morgan couldn't be missing, she was home, where she was safe. Slowly, I became aware of everyone around me and Sky's hand on my arm. Probably to prevent me from running off and doing something stupid. Not that I blamed her.

I shook my head. "No, you're wrong. Morgan's-"

"Hunter, listen to me," Bree interrupted me again. "Mary K. called me upset. Morgan wasn't there, but her car was. Along with her cell phone and keys, Hunter, something happened to her."

I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to sense Stevie Rae and Rephaim walk up to us, so I jumped a little bit when she spoke right next to me.

"Excuse me," Stevie Rae replied. "Did I hear you say that someone was kidnapped?"

"We don't know that for sure," I told her.

"Well, our friend was kidnapped and it seems awfully suspicious that another girl was kidnapped too," Stevie Rae said.

"Look,..." But that's all I was able to say before a scream came from inside Bree's car and something crashed through the windshield. There was an explosion of glass, everybody shielded themselves and others from getting glass impaled in their skin. Alisa was able to get out of the car before the creature crashed into it. But Mary K. wasn't so lucky.

The half-man half-bird creature stood up slowly on top of the car, completely unharmed. He stretched open his wings and let out a low croaking sound, sending Bree, who was helping Mary K. out of the car, back toward the rest of us.

"Nisroc?..." Rephaim started to say, taking a step forward. I shot a look in his direction. Stevie Rae put a hand on his arm, stopping him. He gently took her hand off his arm and squeezed it. He turned back to the creature. "Nisroc, what are you doing here? Where is father?"

"What is he doing? Is he one of them?" I asked Stevie Rae.

"It's a long story, for which we don't have time for right now," Stevie Rae explained. "Let's just say he was, but not anymore."

"Maybe you can tell us next time when we're not facing imminent death," I told her and struck out with blue witch fire at the creature.

Nisroc barely spared me a glance. He swiped his wing through the air, dodging the witch fire with one swat. Then, he tucked his wings back in, tilted his head up to the sky and cawed another loud croaking sound.

Suddenly, Rephaim grew a little frantic, rushing toward the creature again. "Nisroc, no! What are you doing?" he exclaimed. "You don't have to do this. There's another way; you don't have to live this way!"

"Guys, I think we should go now," the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy named Jack spoke up. He sounded scared and when I turned around I found out why.

I almost didn't believe what I was seeing. But one look at everybody else and I knew that it was real. There was a whole swarm of those half-men beast flying down toward us.

"Yeah, I second that," Sky agreed from where she stood next to me.

Suddenly, Nisroc jumped off the car and lunged towards us. I put myself in between the creature and my covenates. "Sky, make sure everyone stays together and get out of here!" I told her. After a slight hesitation, Sky listened to me and I heard them all run off.

"What are you doing?" came Stevie Rae's voice. She and Rephaim were the only other ones who didn't run.

"They're not going to go away on their own," I said and turned back to the creatures, a spell on my lips.

"You can't fight them, they'll kill you!" Stevie Rae warned. Her voice was rising, taking on an authoritative tone. "Both of you, let's go!"

I looked from her to the creatures. One more loud croaking sound from Nisroc and my decision was made. "Alright, let's go!" I relented. Rephaim nodded as well. With me leading, all three of us ran in the direction the others went in.

We caught up with the others about a half-block away, looking tired and confused. Sky pushed her way through the group towards me. "This isn't some random chasing," she panted. "They're herding us somewhere."

"We have to keep moving," I replied. "Maybe if we split up in small groups we'll confuse them."

"So that we don't have to watch them kill us altogether, yeah good plan," Aphrodite sneered.

"You have a better one?" I shot at her.

One of the creatures suddenly swooped down toward us, getting a little to close to Mary K., causing her to scream, sent us running again.

"We can't keep running like this," Stevie Rae pointed out. "We need to take cover."

Almost immediately after she said that a warehouse rose up ahead of us. All my senses, witchly and not, told me to stay away from it, but Stevie Rae was right. We couldn't keep running forever, we needed shelter.

I was the first one to the door and thankfully it wasn't locked and I was able to pull it open halfway before it stuck. "Everybody, hurry up! Get inside!" I called to the group. After everyone made it inside, I started to close the door, but it wouldn't budge. The flapping of wings sounded like thunder as the brown-haired guy, Darius, darted forward to help me. Together we battled with the door until it closed with an audible thud, leaving us in pitch darkness.

"Now, what do we do?" Jack asked. His hand must have brushed against Mary K., because she yelped a little in surprise.

Laughter floated toward us from somewhere in the warehouse and there was a faint rustle of wings. Then came the soft thud of boot heels on concrete, coming towards us.

"Who would have thought it was going to be this easy?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I know it took me a long time to get this chapter up, but hopefully it was worth the wait. Tell me what you thought and please review!


	4. Villians Revealed

**A/N: **Again thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I really appreciate hearing what you all have to say.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Sweep or HoN series, that right belongs to the wonderful Cate Tiernan, P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast who created these wonderful characters.

**Chapter Four**

**Morgan**

My senses were coming back to me. I could hear pacing footsteps from faraway, but aside from that everything was silent. The darkness still had me though; binding my hands and legs to the chair I was sitting in. When I opened my eyes the first thing I saw was blackness. It took awhile for my magesight to kick in, but once it did I could see that I was in a small, bare room. The chair I was sitting in was the only piece of furniture in here and directly in front of me was a large steel door.

The darkness was cutting into my wrists and ankles. It was restricting my movement, but as long as I didn't move my arms and legs too much the pain was almost non-existent. But I couldn't break it because I couldn't feel my power. I mean, I still have my magick, but it was like there was some kind of barrier separating me from it.

Panic was starting to settle on me as I realized my situation. I tried to remember what happened before I woke up in this place, but my mind was fuzzy and every time I got close to an answer, the memory would fade away. By the time I gave up, my head was pounding and all I wanted was an aspirin.

The handle on the door started to jiggle as someone unlocked it. Whoever it was had cloaked their presence so I couldn't get a read on them. I sat up straighter in the chair as the door handle started to turn slowly, to look less scared and intimidated than I felt. The heavy door opened slowly and a dark figure stepped into the doorway.

He stepped more into the room and I could hear him murmuring a spell. Suddenly, a light illuminated from right above my head, expanding outwards and only bright enough for me to see his face. He grinned when he saw my astonished reaction and I tried not to look at those familiar eyes staring back at me.

"Hello, daughter," Ciaran's thick Scottish accent filled the air between us. "I'm terribly sorry about your quarters, but you arrived on such short notice that we didn't have time to arrange something better. My apologies."

"At a loss for words?" Ciaran asked when I stayed silent. "That's alright, I'll do the talking. I've been wanting to tell you since our last visit how proud I was of you. And how very disappointed I am in you. We could have been great together, you're my murin beatha dan's daughter. My daughter too. I could have helped you fulfill your potential."

"Don't talk about my mother," I warned him.

"Pity Maeve's not here to see how weak her daughter has gotten. Maybe if you had been raised in a witch society you have had a chance," Ciaran shook his head. "Well, you can't change the past, so no use in crying over it."

"How did you get your power back?" I blurted out.

Ciaran chuckled. "Let's just say, I found a new reason for living," he smiled crudely. "Power is something we both want." My thoughts immediately went to the woman I met right before I blacked out. But her image was blurred, the only thing I could see clearly about her was the billowing darkness around her.

"It was nice seeing you, daughter," Ciaran said and he moved until he was right in front of me. I flinched when he reached up and put his hand to my cheek. I looked up and met his eyes and was surprised to see a tinge of sadness and regret in them. Then Ciaran withdrew his hand and his eyes were back to the cold, ruthlessness I've always seen. "I'll be back, I must set up for the ritual, until then be the good little catholic girl your parents raised you to be."

"Wait, what ritual?" I started to ask, but Ciaran was already gone, leaving me in total blackness again.

I sighed and leaned my head back, wanting nothing more than to be home with my family and Hunter. Hunter. I could send a witch message to Hunter. I had no idea where I was, though, but Hunter was intuitive, he would figure it out. So, I closed my eyes and focused all my energy on connecting with Hunter.

_Hunter, I need you, _I sent out. _Ciaran. Please come, Hunter. Hurry!_

**Cal**

_Stupid, stupid, _Cal thought to himself as he trudged along the highway, leading out of Widow's Vale. He should have done something when the woman, Neferet he heard his mother call her, confronted Morgan at her house. But he was taken aback by the woman's appearance. Dark shadows had clung to her no matter how she moved and her emerald eyes gleamed pure evil.

Cal shook his head. He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't think about how he had failed Morgan again. He had only sprung into action when Neferet and an inhuman monster had carried an unconscious Morgan, following them as they got into a black car with tinted dark windows and headed toward the highway.

Following the car had been easy at first, the darkness emanating from Neferet had left a trail so clear any blood witch in a five-mile radius would sense it. But now it was fading the farther away they got. Cal growled in frustration when he remembered his gold BMW still at his mother's house. It had no doubt a watch sigil on it, courtesy of his mother, and he didn't want to risk it.

Frantic loud honking broke Cal out of his thoughts and he realized that he had wandered slightly into the street. There were cars swerving around him, blasting their horns, one even gestured rudely at him. Cal quickly stepped back onto the curb just as a tractor-trailer sped past. This was dangerous. If he didn't stay focused he was going to get killed or worse, lose the trail. The trail. Cal stopped short and realized he couldn't sense it anymore. He cast out his senses, hoping to pick it up again. But, instead, he found something else. There was someone in the woods to his right. They were too faraway for Cal to tell who they were, if they were witch or not. Ordinarily, Cal would have just dismissed it as a hunter in the woods. But his senses told him not to. That this person, friend or foe, could help him.

So, hiking his backpack higher on his shoulder, Cal veered off toward the woods. Even though he didn't have any connection to her anymore, not like Hunter, his half-brother, her soulmate. Cal reached out to her anyway, hoping she would hear him.

_I'm coming, Morgan._

**The Warehouse**

"Who would have thought it was going to be this easy?"

The female voice floated through the dark corridor toward the group of witches and vampyres who huddled by the door. They could hear someone in boots moving around followed by the rustle of wings.

"Selene, don't be rude, invite our guests inside." This male voice was closer, almost directly behind the group.

"Of course, where are my manners?" the female voice said back and a moment later her footsteps echoed down the the hall. She was holding a torch that allowed the group to see a little better. The woman had brown-black hair and her face was twisted up in a cruel smile. The witches instantly recognized her as Selene Belltower. "Hello, so nice of you to join us. I believe some of you have already met my friend, Kalona."

The vampyres turned around and saw Kalona standing there like a beautiful, deadly angel, his ebony wings ruffling behind him. "Let's move our little gathering to a different room, so that we can get to know each other better." Kalona began walking, urging the group forward. Selene took up the rear, murmuring spells on any stragglers.

Two double doors appeared up on the left, thrown open to show a wide, mostly empty room. It was lit by torches hung on the walls and there was one chair in the back center of the room. One lone window sat above the chair. More raven mockers lined the room. Two figures approached the doorway; a male vampyre with red marks like Stevie Rae and a female fledgeling with a red crescent moon on her forehead. They all piled into the room and more red fledgelings appeared, grabbing them and taking their bags, cell phones, and other possessions.

"Goddess, protect us,"Hunter murmured as he started saying protection spells and he glanced over at Sky, who was doing the same thing. He tried to catch his other covenates' attention, to get them to do it too. Alisa, Bree, and Robbie did as well.

"Guys, your elements, now!" Stevie Rae whispered fiercely to her friends. She focused on her element, earth, and saw Damien, Erin, and Shaunee doing the same. She had to concentrate hard, because it felt like she was working through a barrier.

Kalona was staring at them, eyes narrowed. He leaned toward Selene. "The circle is gaining power," he muttered,nodding his head toward Stevie Rae and her friends.

"Oh, no, no, no," Selene tisked. "That can't happen." She walked over to the group and stopped. She stared at them for a moment, taking them all in, and then she raised her hands.

"Clathna berrin, ne ith rah."

Hunter's eyes widened as he recognized the spell. He started to go to her. "No, stop!" But the male red vampyre grabbed him, forcing him back. Selene didn't blink.

"Clathna ter, ne feath ullna stath. Morach bis, mea cern, cern mea," Selene continued, sweeping her arms toward Stevie Rae and her friends. "Clathna berrin, ne ith rah!" Stevie Rae, Damien, Erin, and Shaunee fell to their hands and knees, helpless under Selene's will.

Kalona stepped in and around the fallen ones. Looking down to where his son, Rephaim, was attending to Stevie Rae, Kalona grabbed his son up and away from the girl. His amber eyes landed on Hunter.

"Don't bother with the spells; they won't work," Kalona informed him. Hunter returned his steady gaze with one of his own, his lips falling silent of the spells. The others stopped as well.

"Separate them," Selene ordered the red fledgelings. Three of them stepped forward, each taking one of the four, except Stevie Rae, under the binding spell and depositing them in each corner of the room. Then it was the witches' turn. Selene pulled Robbie away and pushed him down with Erin, along with the blue-marked vampyre, Darius. Sky and Aphrodite went to the back-right corner. Alisa to Shaunee and lastly, Hunter to Damien in the front-left corner of the room. Jack, Mary K, Bree, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim stayed where they were, no one ordering them anywhere.

Selene tapped her finger against her cheek, pretending to be deep in thought. "Mm, what to do with you five?" She made a slow, languid circle around them.

Stevie Rae was still on the floor, struggling to get out of the binding spell. Rephaim wanted to go to her, but Kalona stood in front of him, blocking his way. Bree stood stubbornly, not willing to show her fear. Mary K had her arms wrapped around herself and was trying to will herself to stop shaking. Jack put his hand on her arm discreetly, going for comfort. They looked at each other, and then back to Kalona and Selene.

"I'll take them," Kalona spoke up. He didn't wait for Selene, he moved a resistant Bree and an immobile Stevie Rae to one side of the chair in front of the window. Rephaim to the front of the chair, and Mary K and Jack to the other side of it. Kalona sat down comfortably and gazed at the five surrounding him, his own personal play things.

There was a tense short silence that no one dared to move or breath loudly. Then there was a collective gasp from the four incapacitated ones as Selene released them from her binding spell.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked Damien as he helped him to sit up. "Binding spells are some serious spells, believe me."

"I'm fine," Damien replied. Having the ability to control his body taken away was disconcerting and he was glad to have it back, though he still felt a little weak. He glanced around the room, trying to take everything in.

Hunter suddenly jerked when he heard a familiar voice inside his head. _Hunter, I need you. _It was Morgan. _Ciaran. Please come. Hurry! _Damien was studying him, wondering what happened. Hunter averted Damien's studious gaze, trying to get his emotions in check.

"So, what? Now we just sit here and stare at each other until you decide to kill us." came Sky's voice from across the room.

"Oh, that decision has already been made," Selene said. "You all will die. It's only a matter of when."

Kalona laughed after a minute of silence. "But that's all in good time," he reassured, his hand sliding through Bree's hair.

"What do you want?" Hunter asked.

"Silence," Kalona stated. He gave a small nod of his head and a raven mocker suddenly plunged a metal pipe into Alisa's side. She fell to the floor with a cry of pain.

**A/N: **Ooh, a cliffie! Don't you love cliffhangers? Please review if you're interested and want to know what happens next.


	5. Dawn of Destruction

**A/N:** I am sorry for the super long wait, but I've been trying to write all my fanfics at the same time. Some took longer than others and time got away from me. I am trying to update faster, so I hope I still have some readers out there. :)

**Chapter Five**

**The Warehouse**

Hunter was on his feet even before Alisa hit the floor. Shaunee, the fledgling vampyre who had been standing next to her, caught her before she fell and lowered to the floor. Hunter was grabbed by one of the red fledglings; no one was allowed to move.

Darius had moved at the same Hunter did. Though, of course, he was grabbed, too. However, he easily outmaneuvered the fledgling and made a beeline to the injured young witch.

"Freeze!" Selene said evenly, though her voice echoed through the room. Darius stopped in his tracks, his feet rooted to the floor as he tried to free himself. "Perhaps, you all have forgotten our little arrangement. No one speaks or moves unless you want to die a very painful death."

"Alisa needs help or else she's going to bleed to death," Hunter argued as Shaunee struggled to help Alisa.

Selene ignored Hunter, instead she walked over to Darius. "And what do you think you'll be able to do for her?" she asked, walking a slow circle around Darius.

"I have medical training," Darius explained, following Selene with his eyes. "There's probably little supplies here, but I know how to tend to a wound of this caliber."

Meanwhile, Damien slowly reached up and tugged Hunter's jacket to get his attention. "Sit down. There's nothing you can do right now," he whispered. Hunter hesitated and then sat down.

Everybody else watched Selene with Darius. "Well, you see, I can't let you do that. What will the others think if I allow you to wander and not them?" Selene responded.

"Let him help her," Kalona spoke up. He sat down in the chair, crossing his arms and stretching his legs out in front of him, blocking Rephaim from inching any closer to Stevie Rae. "There is nothing he can really do, except make her journey from this world to the next comfortable."

Selene stared at him for a few seconds and then released Darius. Darius hurried over to Alisa and Shaunee, who moved over to make room for him, grateful that he could take over.

Darius shucked off his jacket and instructed Shaunee to do the same. "We'll need them to stop the bleeding later," he explained. "Right now, the pipe is doing that."

Alisa was lying on her side, her head in Shaunee's lap. "What do we do now?" Shaunee asked, glancing down at Alisa's pale face. She was rather still for someone who was just stabbed with a foreign object; she must be going into shock.

"I check to see if she has any internal bleeding," Darius told her. "That way we know if we should pull the pipe out now or wait." He went to work running his hand over Alisa's stomach, pushing gently with his fingertips. He sat back. "I think we're good."

Suddenly, there was a cry from the center of the room. "She needs to go to the hospital!" Mary K. cried. "She's going to die if she doesn't!" She ended in a sob.

Kalona's head snapped to her. Jack put his hand on Mary K.'s arm to calm her, but it didn't detract from Kalona's attention. "Curb your hysterics or my sons will filet you just like your friend," Kalona ordered, not raising his voice an inch. Mary K. covered her face with her hands, trying to get her emotions in check.

X

"Shaunee," Darius said, bringing the girl's attention back to him. "I need you to hold her still while I pull the pipe out. Be ready with the jackets, there's going to be a lot of blood," Shaunee nodded, reaching for her jacket.

"I'm so...cold," came Alisa's small, frail voice.

Shaunee and Darius exchanged looks. Then, Shaunee looked back down at Alisa. She stroked the girl's black hair in a soothing way. "I'm going to help you," she whispered. "You don't know me, but I can help you." Alisa stared up at her. Shaunee focused on her element, willing it to come to her. Fire's warmth burned through her like a small flame. _Fire, this girl needs you. Give her warmth and strength to help her through this. _Fire encircled her once more, then left, flowing into Alisa. Alisa gave a small sigh as the coldness left her.

"Alright, on three," Darius said getting into position to pull the pipe out of Alisa. Shaunee gripped Alisa's shoulders to keep her still. "One...two..." Suddenly, Kalona was there, yanking the pipe out with any further thought or hesitation. Alisa screamed, an agonized scream full of pain. Shaunee and Darius rushed to put pressure on the wound, one on Alisa's front and one on her back.

"Three," Kalona stated. He held the bloody pipe in his hand, tossing it up in the air and catching it again. "Drama is only exciting to a certain point and then it gets drawn out and very tedious."

Darius barely had to spare Kalona a glance. He pulled of his belt. "Here, lift her up a little bit," he instructed Shaunee. "I'm going to put this around her." Shaunee did as she was told, holding Alisa up as Darius wrapped the belt around her and tightened it.

X

"This is ridiculous," Sky muttered from where she sat on the other side of the room. "What do they even want from us?"

"Haven't you been paying attention?" Aphrodite snorted, sarcasm flowing from every word. She was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "They want our deaths."

"Well, excuse me, if I haven't resigned myself to dying just yet," Sky shot back at her. She watched as Kalona sat relaxed and comfortable in the chair, rolling the bloody pipe between his hands while Darius worked to save Alisa's life. Selene paced the width of the room, occasionally stopping to shoot Kalona a glare.

"I don't see how we could even get out of here," Aphrodite replied, a little more seriously. "If we can get past these two, there's no way we can get by all these damn raven mockers."

"We need a diversion," Sky said matter-of-factly.

"And who will the unlucky person be..." Aphrodite trailed off, as she looked at the red fledglings around the room, then at Alisa and Darius and back again. "The blood has to be driving them crazy."

"I think we just found our diversion," Sky replied meeting Aphrodite's eyes, who narrowed hers.

X

Erin sat on the floor in the front corner of the room, across from Hunter and Damien. She hugged her legs to her chest, moving closer to the hot guy sitting next to her. "This is really scary," Erin whispered. "I don't know how we can get out of here."

"We just have to stay quiet and try not to make them mad," Robbie whispered back to her. "Then we can figure out what it is they want."

"I'll do whatever you say," Erin whispered, sliding her arm through his. Robbie glanced down at it confusedly, then looked back out at the room.

X

"Stevie Rae had said that you lost somebody, correct?" Hunter asked, turning to face Damien. Once Damien nodded, Hunter asked another question. "What is she to you?"

"Besides our friend, Zoey is our high priestess," Damien answered, taking turns looking at Hunter and the rest of the room.

"She's powerful?" Hunter questioned.

"Yes, why?" Damien stared at him, eyebrows drawn together.

Hunter took a deep breath and said, "Morgan, my girlfriend, well she's more than that actually, she's one of the most powerful witches that's come around in generations and she's been taken too."

"That sounds like more than just a coincidence," Damien mused, running a hand over his chin thoughtfully.

Hunter nodded. "A little while ago, Morgan sent me a witch message saying that she was with Ciaran, her father. Which I don't understand because last I heard, he was in Scotland after we stripped him of his powers."

"Could he be working with someone?" Damien wondered, wishing he had a pencil and some paper. Things always seemed clearer on paper.

"Seeing as Selene is back from the dead, I'd say anything is possible at this point." Hunter looked over his shoulder. Kalona was still sitting in his chair tapping a musical beat against the floor with the metal pipe he still held. Selene stood over Darius, watching him with Alisa. Hunter didn't see her gun, but he knew she still had it with her.

"What does Ciaran look like?" Damien asked suddenly.

Hunter looked back at Damien. "Older, mid-forties. Hazel eyes and graying hair." Hunter answered.

Damien's eyes widened as Hunter finished. He said, "I think he's the one who took Zoey."

X

"Is she still alive?" Selene asked Darius from where she stood behind him. Her arms were crossed as she feigned interest and caring.

"Yes, but she needs stitches and a sterile environment or infection is going to set in." Darius told her, unable to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice.

"Oh, what a shame," Selene said. "After all you've done for her, she's going to die anyway. Ah, well, you can't save them all." Selene put her hand on Darius' shoulder and knelt down next him. "Be a dear, and make her journey to the next world comfortable."

Darius would have loved to turn around, grab Selene by the throat, and squeeze until every breath in her body was gone. But he couldn't do that. Acting recklessly in this kind of situation would only get yourself and others killed. So, he only jerked his shoulder out from under her hand and ignored her.

A cry of pain from the center of the room stole Selene's attention from Darius. Everybody else in the room turned toward the sound as well. Rephaim was folded in on himself, his head touching the floor and his hands curled into fists. He was moaning and grunting as an unseen pain shuddered through him.

"What's the matter with you?" Selene asked Rephaim, when she walked over to him.

Rephaim didn't, couldn't, say anything.

"What's wrong with him?" Bree whispered, not really expecting an answer.

Stevie Rae was watching Rephaim, concern written all over her face. She wanted to go over to him, comfort him, but she was afraid of what Kalona or Selene would do if she did. "You remember when Hunter asked if Rephaim was one of them," She nodded toward the raven mockers. "and I said that it was a long story?"

Bree nodded, encouraging Stevie Rae to continue.

"Well, he was one, but he chose Light over Darkness, betraying his father," Stevie Rae explained, nodding at Kalona. "The goddess gifted him with a human form, but because of his past actions, he's cursed to turn into a raven every sunrise to sunset."

"Wow, he must really love you to go through all that," Bree replied, wide-eyed.

Stevie Rae looked down for a second, blushing, then back up at Rephaim. "I have to help him," Stevie Rae said. She uncrossed her legs and started to move toward Rephaim.

Sensing her movement, Rephaim's head snapped up, his eyes locking with hers just as Kalona's leg swung out in front of Stevie Rae, blocking her path.

"Don't." Rephaim mouthed to her. Then, he turned his head slightly to where Selene was standing before him. "Take me out of the room," Rephaim said, as his body convulsed violently once, twice. "Please, I don't want everybody to see this."

Some of the hostages were turning away instead of watching his painful transformation. Selene didn't say anything for a moment, and then she said to the raven mockers. "You heard him. He can have his very own private quarters for this momentous occasion." She turned away from Rephaim as two raven mockers came forward to collect him.

"Goddess knows we have enough birds in here," Selene muttered, though everyone heard her. "We don't need to add to the flock."

XXX

The two raven mockers dragged Rephaim out of the main room into the hall, pulling Rephaim deeper into the warehouse. They stopped at the end of the hall, and one of the raven mockers swung open a door. Rephaim was thrown inside right before the last torrent of pain hit him before the change. This room was small like a closet and the silence was deafening. The darkness was the last thing he saw as a human.

**Cal**

Cal cursed silently for about the tenth time after yet another branch scratched his arm. The forest had gotten thicker and the trees grew closer together making it seem even darker than it already was. The person he'd been tracking had long since disappeared off his witchly radar, and he wondered why he was even still in the forest. But something told him to keep going, so he did. Cal had nearly fallen over a tree root when he felt it again.

The person he had sensed the presence of earlier. They were close, really close. Cal slowed his footsteps, not wanting to scare them away. They weren't moving, so Cal got the feeling that they knew he was here too.

"Show yourself!"

Cal stopped where he was when the other guy spoke. He stood there a moment, considering his options. The guy didn't sound pleasant, and Cal wouldn't be surprised if he was holding a gun. Cal wasn't interested in fighting tonight, but it couldn't just be a coincidence that this guy was in the same neck of the woods as him. Decidedly, Cal stepped through the branches and underbrush.

A young guy around the age of seventeen stood in a small clearing. He had brown hair and brown eyes with red, arrow-like tattoos on his face. _Vampyre,_ Cal thought, remembering one of the things Selene had taught him when he was younger. Cal was right about one thing; he was armed. He stood poised with a bow and arrow, ready to shoot.

"Drop you weapon," Cal told him. "I'm no threat to you."

The guy didn't lower his bow. "I don't know that," he retorted. "Why are you following me?"

"I'm not," Cal said calmly. "I sensed someone in these woods, someone who could help me. Someone, who I just now realized, is not human at all, but a vampyre."

"What do you mean you sensed me?" he kept his aim on Cal. "How could I possibly help you? And how do you know what I am?"

"I'm a witch, my mother taught me a lot, some about your kind," Cal explained. "I know you lost somebody. I might know where she is."

The other guy had started to lower his weapon, but raised it again when he finished. "Is that because you're part of the group that took her?" he shot at Cal.

"No, but my mother is," Cal said. "She's allied herself with two other evil forces. I've turned my back on her, but I may be able to use what I know to find them." Then, much quieter, he added, "They've taken someone I love too."

"I'm not saying I trust you, but I know a little something or other about turning your back on evil," the guy replied. "I don't need any help; I've got my own way of finding her. It's very reliable."

"Are you sure about that?" Cal asked him. "Because knowing my mother, she's probably spelled wherever she's at and anywhere within a ten-mile radius of it. But as long as you know where you're going, that's the important thing, right?"

He was quiet for a minute, thinking. Finally, he spoke, "Prove you are what you say you are." He lowered the bow to point at the ground, instead of at Cal's heart.

Cal sighed and dropped his backpack to the ground. He cleared his mind and took deep, even breaths, focusing his energy on the other guy. After a moment of silence, the bow ripped itself out of the guy's hands. Cal wrapped his own hand around the bow with a satisfied grin.

"Maybe I need your help," the guy said, reluctantly. He went over and snatched his bow out of Cal's hand, but he stuck out his other hand. "James Stark, but I mostly go by Stark."

Cal took his outstretched hand and replied, "Cal Blaire."

XXX

Cal and Stark trekked through the woods side by side, Stark leading the way. They were quiet majority of the time, only really speaking when the silence got awkward. They talked about what they were and what they each knew about the situation.

"You still haven't told me your special way of finding your priestess," Cal commented as he moved hanging branches out of his way.

Stark hadn't planned on telling him, but Cal has already released more information than he has. If they were going to trust one another, they couldn't have any secrets. "She and I have a special bond," Stark explained, ducking his head under a low-lying branch. "I gave her my Warrior's Oath and she accepted it. It's a sacred oath that binds us together in an intimate way. When her emotions are strong enough, I can feel them and hear her thoughts. They tend to get stronger the closer I get to her." Stark stared straight ahead as he spoke, barely glancing at Cal.

They lapsed into another silence, Cal not knowing what to say to what Stark just revealed. It definitely wasn't anything he'd expected Stark to say. Cal looked up at the sliver of sky he could see through the canopy of trees and realized the sky was starting to lighten. Dawn was coming. Stark was watching the darkness on his skin get lighter as the sun began its ascent. He could already tell there wasn't going to be enough shade to keep up the search for Zoey. He was going to burn to death in this forest if he didn't do something.

"Shit," Stark muttered to himself, then out loud he said, "I need to find shelter. Now." He walked ahead of Cal, with a determined stride.

"And where do you expect to find shelter, warrior? In case you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of the woods." Cal pointed out. "Oh, wait, I think I see a knothole in one of those trees. Do you think it'll be big enough for the two of us? It might be a tight squeeze, but who knows, it could be cozy." Cal shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. "Besides, we can't stop. We have to keep going."

"Believe me, no one wants to keep going as much as I do, but I'm no good to Zoey as a pile of ashes," Stark replied, biting back a sarcastic remark. Stark continued, "You have no reason to help me, but if your girlfriend is being held with Zoey and I die, you're screwed." He glanced nervously up at the sky.

"Well, if you insist on being dramatic about it," Cal said, taking his backpack off and putting it on the ground. He knelt down and started rummaging through its contents.

Stark glared at him, curling his hands into fists and contemplated how good it would feel to send an arrow straight through Cal's heart. Then, he saw the sky turning a singe of pink. He saw Cal still on the ground, playing with his bag. Sighing, he walked away, mumbling, "I don't have time for this."

Finally, Cal found what he was looking for. A rolled-up tent. "Here," he said, throwing the bundle at Stark.

"Thanks," Stark accepted, catching the tent. He put it on the ground and began to set it up.

XXX

After the tent was set up, Cal sat down on a log he had pulled over and started taking out stones, quartz, and his athame from his bag. He picked up a blueish-gray quartz, held it between his hands and murmured a spell over it. When he finished, he looked up at Stark and held out the quartz. "Take this," Cal told him. "Keep it with you at all times. I've spelled it to cloak your essence. We don't need anyone sneaking up on us when you're...napping."

Stark narrowed his eyes at the stone, but he took it anyway and put it in his pocket. He would have said something had he not started feeling the fatigue that the sun always brings to him. Stark nodded his thanks and crawled inside the tent. _I'm not leaving you, Z, _he thought as he laid down to sleep. _I'm coming for you._

Cal sat outside, fiddling with his athame. He was going to put protection spells around their campsite, but he just couldn't concentrate. His thoughts kept going to Morgan. _I am sorry, Morgan. For everything I've ever done to you. _He didn't dare say the words aloud, in case Stark was still awake. _I love you, Morgan._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Well, how was it? I promise I won't make you wait a long time for the next chapter. I am hoping to post the next chapters for all my stories this month. Anyway, please review!


	6. One step forward, Two steps back

**A/N: **I'm sorry I haven't posted any chapters recently, but I've been working on my other fanfics. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be up by Christmas, but obviously that didn't work out. But hopefully the length of this chapter will make it right. Anyway, please read and enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Six**

**Morgan**

Time had escaped me. I had no idea whether it was day, night, or how many days had passed since I've been here. Ciaran hasn't come in again, for that I was glad. But I also hadn't gotten any witch messages from Hunter. I was worried, what if my message had been blocked somehow or someone was preventing Hunter from coming.

There was on unwelcome distraction from those thoughts. The darkness. It was always there, binding my wrists and ankles together. I couldn't ignore it, the chill seeped into my skin, leaving me cold and afraid. Despite the chill, I could feel the darkness burning away my flesh. I was scared to know what I would find if I ever got out of here.

That was when I realized that if I was going to get out of here, I was going to have to act now. I couldn't wait for someone to come and rescue me, if anybody was going to come at all. I had to find a way to break the darkness' hold on me. But it was unlike anything I had encountered before and I didn't know what to do. I just had to trust that my magick could get me out of here.

I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. I could feel my magick, it was there, but there was something in my way. I couldn't access my magick without encountering it. It was like hitting a solid wall every time I tried. I let out a cry of frustration, causing the darkness to swell and pulse around my arms and legs. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, but I refused to cry.

Then, my hands started to heat up. Slowly first, and it felt like they were on fire, no it felt like I was holding fire within my hands. I was scared, I didn't know what was happening. I thought maybe it was the darkness increasing its' power over me. The heat continued to intensify until it was gone. It just disappeared, the fire, the darkness, all of it was just gone.

Slowly, I brought my hands in front of me and was surprised to see they were relatively unmarked. There were just two red welts on my wrists where the darkness had been, nothing too serious. What was the most unnerving was that my hands were glowing a faint orange. Taking a deep breath, I lowered my hands down to my ankles. I hesitated at first and then placed my hands on the billowing mass of darkness.

First, nothing happened and then there was sizzling noise. A bright, fire-like light engulfed my hands. The darkness dissolved away until it was gone for good. I was free. I sat there, wondering what had just happened. Had I done that? But my power had been blocked, how could I have used it unless... No, I couldn't think of that possibility right now. In that moment, I realized I could feel my power again, it wasn't blocked anymore.

I bolted for the door and jiggled the door handle. It was locked and I didn't have an athame to draw an unlocking rune. That quickly, my moment of triumph had been extinguished. There was only one thing left I could think of and if it didn't work there would be no other way out. I put my hand on the door knob, closing my eyes and focusing my energy on the lock. I began murmuring a simple spell.

"Door unlock

Release me from this prison block."

The door popped open in my hands and I opened my eyes. I pulled open the door all the way. The hallway was long and dark, lit by torches on the wall spaced at even intervals. It was empty as far as I could see, so I took a step out of the room, then another one, keeping them quiet just in case. I was only a few feet away from the door when I started to hear footsteps coming down the hall towards me. There was a low croaking sound that made my heart start beating fast. I've never heard that sound before and that scared me the most, not knowing what was coming for me.

The footsteps were getting loud and closer and I still had no way to defend myself besides my magick. I started to see the outline of a figure, it was about the size of tall man. It was moving at a steady pace, so it hadn't seen me yet. Out of habit, I started murmuring my family's power chant. I wasn't sure if it was going to work against this enemy, but I could feel my power growing in strength. Finally, the figure stepped under one of the torch lights and I let out a gasp in surprise, losing my concentration, at the sight before me.

The creature was, to put it simply, half-man and half bird. He had red, human-like eyes that were suddenly locked on me. There was a tense moment of silence, neither one of us moving. Then he expanded his giant, black wings, opened his beak and let out another loud croaking screech, this one more terrifying than the first. I reacted almost immediately, throwing my arm out, blue witch fire shooting from my fingertips. The power chant falling easily off my lips again.

The blue witch fire hit the creature in the midsection, but he merely brushed it off. He started walking towards me, his wings fluttering behind him. I kept hitting him with witch fire, but it had little effect on him. He was still advancing. I paused for only a second and then continued chanting, only faster and stronger this time. A giant ball of white energy began to form between my hands. I had never felt any powerful than I did in that moment holding the pulsing energy in my hands. I held it a moment longer and then hurled it as hard as I could at the creature.

It hit the creature square in the chest, pitching him backward until he hit the ground. I didn't stick around to see what happened next, I leaped over the creature and bolted down the hallway. I didn't stop until I reached a fork in the hallway. The hall straight ahead was identical to the one I just came from, but the one to my right was significantly brighter. It opened up into a wide space of a room.

I was about to round the corner, when I heard voices coming from inside the room. One sounded like a girl around my age, I didn't recognize it though, but the other one, I did recognize. It was the woman who had showed up at my house and overpowered me. My blood went cold with fear. It didn't know what to do or where to go.

"Oh, please, join us, little witch." came Neferet's voice from inside the room. I froze, she knew I was here. "Your father is out preparing the ritual, but he'll be back soon."

I hesitated and then turned the corner into the room. It was bigger than I had originally assumed with a a long, mahogany table in the center. Neferet was standing facing a girl with long black hair and blue tattoos on her face and hands. She was the same girl I had seen in the vision.

"What am I going to do with you two now?" Neferet said, tapping her chin with her finger and pacing back and forth between them.

"What ritual? What are you going to do?" I asked Neferet, stepping farther into the room. "And how do we-" I gestured to myself and the other girl. "-fit into it?"

"Haha, all in good time, Morgan dear, all in good time," Neferet replied, stopping between us. "Now," she snapped her finger at her obedient companion, darkness. The darkness slithered up in the air next to her. "Do this for me and you shall receive your payment later. Bind these two up harder and take them back to their cells."

Determined not to go back to that cell, I thought, _Fire_, and immediately began to feel Fire's radiating heat surrounding me. I also felt the presence of another element, one I didn't know. I looked to the other girl, Zoey I remembered Neferet calling her, wondering if she was responsible. Zoey turned to look at me as well with the same determined expression.

The darkness slinked closer. _Fire, stop it in it's tracks,_ I told the element and Fire exploded into being , blocking the darkness' descent on us. _Can you send your element out too? The more, the better. _I sent the message to Zoey, hoping she received it. Zoey looked at me confirming that she did and I nodded at her encouragingly. A moment later, another element, my instinct told me it was spirit though I heard little about it, joined fire.

Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps coming from the hallway on the other side of the room. Then Ciaran stepped through the doorway. "I leave for only a few hours and you let them both escape," he said to Neferet, taking in the scene inside the room.

"I have things well in hand, you can go back to your cauldron now," Neferet told him. She was staring Zoey and I down, and I saw the darkness starting to creep over the flames.

"We can't keep this up forever," Zoey whispered to me, keeping her eyes on Neferet.

"I know," I whispered back, agreeing.

"Apparently our definitions of handling it differ," Ciaran was saying. He started murmuring something, something I couldn't hear. Then my body went numb as I lost control and I dropped to my knees. It was a binding spell. I glanced at Zoey, she had fallen as well.

The flames died out and I didn't sense the other element, spirit, either. As Zoey and I mentally struggled on our hands and knees, Neferet and Ciaran moved closer to us. "And you prove yourself useful once again." Neferet replied. "Darkness, take them away."

We couldn't even scream as the darkness wrapped around us once again.

**The Warehouse**

Rephaim grunted as the raven mocker dumped him onto the floor in front of where Kalona was sitting. His body still ached from the change, but he didn't let it show. Kalona barely even glanced at his son as he stroked Mary K's hair. The younger girl had her eyes squeezed shut and Rephaim's heart went out to her. Out of the corner of his eye, Rephaim saw Stevie Rae start to move to him, but Bree stopped her with a hand on her arm, for that Rephaim was glad. He didn't want Stevie Rae getting in trouble with Kalona or Selene.

Kalona watched as Selene eyed him as she paced the length and width of the room. He knew Selene mistrusted him, the feeling was mutual. "It's so nice when everyone is on their best behavior," Kalona said aloud. His words were met with a few discreet glares. He moved his hand down to the back of Mary K's neck. "What do you think everybody should get as a reward?" He turned his charming smile on her.

Mary K. shrank into herself, hugging her legs tighter to her chest. She knew not answering him was out of the question. Alisa was stabbed just standing there; she didn't do anything. "You could let us go," Mary K. managed to muster, her voice shaking. She turned her face into her shoulder.

"Well, that's just not possible," Selene spoke before Kalona could respond. She sighed, "I'm going to check in with the others. I trust you can handle things in here?" Kalona gave her a flirty smile and a tilt of his head. With a disgusted look, Selene walked out of the room, sliding her gun into the waistband of her jeans. Kalona nodded his head once more at two raven mockers and the two creatures moved to stand in the entrance to the room.

"It's okay, try not to be scared," Jack whispered to Mary K. He tried to put his arm around her shoulders, but she jerked at his touch. He dropped his arm, not a bit offended; he was virtually a stranger to her. "They won't pick on you if you're not that scared."

"I know, it's just that..." she whispered back. She looked around the room at her friends and fellow hostages. Mary K. stared longer at the raven mockers and bloodthirsty red fledgelings. "We're all going to die, aren't we?" she whimpered.

"Shhh, no," Jack told her. He caught Damien's eye across the room, then nodded at Mary K. _Help her,_ he mouthed. Damien nodded, seeing the upset girl. Jack saw Damien concentrate, and then, Mary K. visibly relaxed slightly as air enveloped her in its' soft caresses. "Everything's going to be okay," Jack said, smiling a bit.

X

"I know you want to go to him right now," Bree was whispering to Stevie Rae, trying to reassure her. "I just think that's not a good idea right now." She glanced briefly at Kalona and then returned her gaze back to Stevie Rae.

"I know," Stevie Rae sighed, tracing her finger around the sole of her worn cowboy boot. "It's just that—I know what he through alone and what it does to him. I can tell he's hurting, but he doesn't want me to know. Except I do. I..." She drifted off, unable to finish. Stevie Rae looked up at Rephaim, who was watching her. Their eyes met and Stevie Rae's heart ached to be near him, for him to hold her close and tell her everything's going to be okay.

Bree found Robbie sitting across the room from her. She tried to catch his eye, but he was whispering something to the blonde girl sitting next to him. Bree couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Robbie was her boyfriend and he was forced to sit with some strange girl and comfort her.

Stevie Rae caught Bree's gaze at Erin and Robbie. She was throwing herself all over him. "Hey, Erin is a big flirt," Stevie Rae said to Bree. "She'll flirt with the next hot guy that walks by. And he looks really uncomfortable." She tried to reassure her.

Bree turned to look at Stevie Rae, with a half-smile, "Thanks."

X

"How is she doing?" Shaunee asked Darius, in a whisper. She was leaning with her back against the wall and Alisa's head in her lap. She stroked the younger girl's dark hair, trying to keep her calm. Alisa was just barely conscious, drifting in and out.

Darius sat next to Alisa, keeping an eye on her wound and pulse. "She's doing as well as can be expected under these conditions," Darius explained. He rested his forearms on his knees.

"So, do we just wait and see if they let us go?" Shaunee said bitterly, with a toss of her head toward Kalona.

Darius nodded once. "Just wait and hope infection doesn't set in," he added.

"That would be bad," Shaunee murmured. And then, before she could talk herself out of it or Selene comes back, she called on her element, the powerful fire. _Fire, go to Alisa and burn away any chances of infection. Help keep her strong, like you do to me. _Fire went willingly to the young injured witch, keeping her strong until help could come.

X

Aphrodite blew out a long breath and slid down the wall until she was seated on the floor next to Sky. Sky watched her and discreetly pulled out her athame from her leather jacket. She snuck a glance at Hunter, who was sitting in the opposite corner diagonal to her. He was watching, but she couldn't tell if the look he was giving her was one of approval or disapproval, maybe it was a little of both. Either way, she was doing this.

Whispering a silence spell, Sky started to draw a circle around her and Aphrodite, when Kalona wasn't looking. When she finished half the circle, Sky handed the dagger to Aphrodite, who had been looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Can you finish the circle on your side?" Sky asked her. She slid the athame behind herself when Kalona glanced their way.

"And what is drawing a damn circle on the floor going to do to help us?" Aphrodite asked back, when Kalona had turned away.

"Just do it, and I'll explain after," Sky whispered hastily. Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but took the athame anyway. She finished the circle and handed it back to Sky, raising her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

"It's a protection circle," Sky explained in a whisper. She drew protection sigils around the front edge of the circle. She also kept glancing up to make sure no raven mockers or red fledgelings were watching, she didn't trust Aphrodite would tell her when someone was coming. "It's not much, but it's all I can do right now." Sky sat back when she was finished, sliding her athame back into her jacket. "As long as we stay in the circle, we'll be relatively safe."

Aphrodite and Sky sat back and looked out at the rest of the room. Aphrodite sighed, "Relatively safe is all we can ask for right now."

X

Erin sat next to Robbie in their corner of the room, her arm looped through his and her head resting on his shoulder. Robbie thought she was a nice girl, a little too forward and he would really like to have his arm back. When she lifted her head, he subtly pulled his arm free. He tried to catch Bree's gaze from where she sat across the room to express his apologies for this girl's behavior, but she wouldn't look at him. Robbie sighed.

Erin mistook that for frustration for their overall situation. "I know, I hope we can get out of here soon," Erin said. "When we do, maybe-"

Suddenly, they felt another presence kneel down next to them. "I'm sorry, princess, that's not going to happen." It was Dallas, the red vampyre with the lightning bolt marks.

"Go away, Dallas, nobody wants you over here," Erin retorted, barely sparing him a glance.

Dallas laughed, "You'll want it sooner or later," Erin gave him a disgusted look; Dallas winked at her. He turned to Robbie. "Keep her warm for me." he smirked.

Robbie was only able to glare at him, before he was interrupted.

"Dallas!" Kalona exclaimed, not moving from his seat. "No fraternizing with the hostages. That's my job."

Dallas winked again and then he stood up, walking away. Erin shuddered, and slipped her arm through Robbie's again and laid her head down on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay," Robbie said, to Erin, unsure of what else to say, but wanted to assure her somehow. Robbie swallowed hard, wishing he believed his own words.

X

Hunter shifted the way he was sitting, stretching his legs out in front of him. He leaned his head back against the wall, thinking. He could draw a protection circle around himself and Damien, like Sky did, but unlike Sky, he was sitting in the front of the room, completely visible to Kalona. Kalona would catch him before he could take his athame out of his pocket. Hunter sighed quietly, crossed his ankles and stuffed his hands inside his pockets of his leather jacket.

"Thank you," Hunter whispered to Damien. When the other guy turned to look at him, Hunter continued, "For what you did for Mary K. She's gone through so much in the past few months, she shouldn't even be in this position. But you put yourself at risk and if Selene had been here, she probably would have killed you. I'd be more careful from now on."

"It was nothing, I don't like to see others upset," Damien nodded. "But you're right. We need to be more careful with our magick, especially your cousin over there. I"m not so sure that anyone saw her." He still sat cross-legged, and he leaned forward on his arms.

"Yeah, that's Sky," Hunter agreed. "She's too stubborn for her own good. When someone is in trouble she doesn't hesitate to help regardless of what happens to herself." He started to say something else, but stopped when Selene breezed back into the room. "Oh, boy." Hunter muttered.

"I thought I told you to watch them?" Selene asked Kalona. It sounded like she was in an even worse mood than when she left.

"I did watch them," Kalona replied, his mood going down at her utter lack of faith in him. "They're sitting in their corners like good kids." He smiled at each hostage.

"Then why is this room pulsing with magick?" Selene demanded, standing in the middle of the room and looking at all the hostages. "I'll tell you why, it's because everybody has forgotten who is in charge here. So let me remind you all." She pulled out her gun. "Who should I shoot first? Air? Fire?" Selene pointed the gun first at Damien and then Shaunee. Then she turned abruptly and strode over to Sky. "Or Miss thinks she can pull a fast one on me." She dismantled the protection circle around Sky and Aphrodite and then fixed the gun on Sky.

A minute passed. Then, Kalona blew out a long, drawn out sigh. "Enough with the drama already," he dramatized. "If you're going to shoot her, just shoot her already." He waved his hand in the air dismissively.

Selene snapped her head around to glare at him, the gun still trained on Sky. "At least I'm doing something," she threw at him. "As opposed to you, sitting on your ass."

Kalona cocked his head, his amber eyes narrowing. "You want me to do something?" he questioned.

Selene quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine." Kalona stated. Before anyone could blink, he grabbed Mary K. by her hair, stood up, and walked to the center of the room. Mary K. whimpered, but she mostly stayed quiet. Kalona turned them in a slow circle, showing everybody, his hand still in her hair at the back of her neck. "Since you all seem so deliberate to breaking the rules, let's put a twist on it," Kalona announced. "If anyone steps out of line or misbehaves, this pretty young lady gets a demerit. Careful, if she gets ten-" He smiled at Mary K. "-We lose a friend."

"Give me the demerits instead!" Hunter volunteered, jumping from the floor.

"No," Kalona said simply. "I've made my decision, no volunteers." He jerked Mary K's head to make her look at him. "And I'm sorry, my dear, you already have three demerits. Not a good start." Kalona tisked.

Selene lowered her weapon and walked over to Kalona and Mary K. "Excellent idea, Kalona, that should keep them in line." Selene smiled cruelly. "But first, Dallas would you please search Miss Sky and confiscate any suspicious items she may be withholding."

"With pleasure," Dallas obeyed, his voice sickeningly sweet. He strolled over to Sky and knelt down before her. He grinned at her. "Hey there, princess, you want to give me what you have there?" He wasn't dumb; he knew she was hiding something behind her back. He held his hand out.

Sky kept her gaze level with his, not back down. If there was ever a time to do something, it was now. Her eyes flicked to Hunter still standing across the room. Hunter looked at her and his own eyes widened. Sky turned her attention back to Dallas, smiling slyly. "You want it?"

Everything after that happened in a flash.

"Sky, no!" Hunter exclaimed, running toward her. Nicole, the dark-haired red fledgeling grabbed him, holding him in place. He struggled against her.

Sky had whipped her athame out and pointed it at Dallas' neck. "Enough with these games," Sky addressed Kalona and Selene, but her gaze stayed locked on Dallas. He still had that stupid smirk on his face, like Sky didn't have a dagger to his throat. "Tell us what you want and let us go. Or I'll kill him right now."

"Unfortunately, I could care less if you killed him," Selene said, crossing her arms. "By all means, kill him. It will be one less bloodsucker in the world."

"Sky, don't," Hunter told his cousin while struggling against Nicole. Sky had touched the athame to Dallas' neck, she hadn't drawn blood, yet.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Dallas finally spoke. His chin was raised from the blade almost pressing into his throat. "I could kill you before you even get this dagger all the way in."

"I think I'll take my chances," Sky seethed.

Then, another voice joined the fray. "He's right," Stevie Rae said, standing up. "His powers are really dangerous, lethal even." Another red fledgeling grabbed her before she could move.

"Alright, no more heroics," Kalona replied, discouraging anybody else from standing up. "What are you going to do, witch?"

There was a tense silence, where the only sounds were Mary K's quiet sobs of terror. Sky connected with Hunter one more time. Hunter tried to beg her with his eyes to hand the athame over. Sky spoke, "Hunter, get everybody out."

"Nooo!" Hunter yelled, lunging again. Nicole didn't let him go.

Just as Sky thrust the dagger forward, Dallas grabbed her wrist and sent an electric shock through her. Sky fell to the floor, dropping the dagger and grunting in pain. Hunter struggled more furiously to get to her, but Nicole twisted his arm behind his back and he gritted his teeth in pain.

Kalona sighed, feigning sympathy. "What a shame, but at least we were all entertained for a little while," Kalona said. He nodded toward Dallas. "Dallas, take her out so that she can recuperate in private." Kalona smiled sardonically.

"You bastard," Hunter spat. He stopped struggling and stood still, glaring at Kalona. "You don't care about any of us. We're all just pawns in your game."

In a flash, Kalona grabbed Hunter by the neck and pinned him against the wall. Hunter gasped, trying to get more air to his lungs. "You're right I don't care if you leave this place in a body bag or with a few less body parts." Kalona hissed. "So, I would curb your outbursts before I decide to kill every last soul in this room." His fingers pressed deeper into Hunter's neck.

Selene walked over to the pair. "That's enough," she snapped, speaking to Kalona. "Have you forgotten the plan? He stays alive."

Kalona didn't move for a moment and everybody was holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, Kalona let go and Hunter collapsed to the floor, gasping. "Nicole, search him for anything suspicious." Kalona ordered, turning around and walking away.

Nicole searched Hunter almost too happily, until she came across his athame. She pulled it out, and Selene snatched it from her before she could keep it for herself. Selene also picked up Sky's fallen athame.

"Now, everybody sit down and behave, before I really begin to lose my temper," Selene ordered.

Kalona was back over with Mary K, who was still frozen in place, his hands on her shoulders. He lowered his head to look her in the eyes. "Sorry, darling," he mocked consoled her. "You are up to six demerits now. I'd hope that your fellow hostages will behave to save your life if I were you." He smiled at her, then pushed her back down to her spot next to Jack.

**Cal**

"C'mon vamp, get up," Cal said, knocking on the tent where Stark had been sleeping. "The moon is shining, let's go!" When there was no answer, Cal unzipped the flap of the tent and stuck his head in. The red vampyre was just reaching for his bow and arrows and glowered at Cal.

"I'm coming," Stark growled at him. "I was already up." He had tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep without Zoey right next to him. It was an agonizing wait for the sun to go down.

Stark slung his arrows over his shoulder, and, holding on to his bow, shoved past Cal into the night air. He held his hands out. "What, no breakfast?" Stark asked, sarcastically.

Cal was finishing up getting his things together. "You've got the bow. Why don't you go find a deer to nibble on or do you prefer to drink from the vein?" Cal shot back, just as snarkily.

"Why are you offering?" Stark asked him. "Though it's tempting to see you dead, blood from an asshole doesn't sound that appealing. So, I'll pass for now."

"Let's just get going, alright?" Cal said when everything was packed. He shouldered his pack and looked to Stark.

"Fine by me," Stark replied gruffly. He turned and started walking through the woods. He called over his shoulder, "Keep up and stay out of my way!"

They trekked through the woods once again, staying mostly silent. They listened to their footsteps crunching on the leaves and stayed alert to their surroundings. Stark knew he was going the right way; he could feel it deep in his soul. He was getting closer to Zoey. Cal's mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about Morgan and her possible reaction to seeing him again. He steeled himself for her overreacting in a bad way, but he couldn't help to wonder if she could be...happy to see him again.

Suddenly, there was a break in the trees a few yards away. Stark and Cal both stopped where they were, for different reasons. Stark turned in a slow circle, a distressed look on his face. "Something's happened," he announced. "I can barely feel her."

Cal held up his hand, as if for silence. "Shhh," Cal said, taking a couple steps forward carefully. "There's magick around here." He continued past Stark, walking into the clearing. After awhile, Cal spread his arms out wide in frustration. "This is impossible," he stated. "There's so much magick here, I can feel it, but yet...nothing." Cal turned on Stark. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

Stark shot him a glare. "Of coarse I'm sure," Stark said, stepping into the clearing. "The bond's never steered me wrong before. It's just—I—something's happened to her. I know it."

"Must be hard," Cal replied, turning his back on Stark. "I would feel sorry for you if I thought anything you've said was the truth. I'm starting to think you made all this warrior bond stuff up. And you're really just leading me into a trap."

That was it. Stark was tired of Cal and his comments. Slowly, Stark pulled out an arrow and knocked it to his bow. He didn't need any help, he could find Zoey by himself. Stark raised the bow. "Just one shot," he muttered to himself.

Cal was still chattering, his back turned, as Stark readied his aim. Then, suddenly, Cal's foot came down on a part of the ground that echoed an empty, hollow, clanging sound. Stark lowered the bow, his eyes narrowing in curiosity. Cal repeated his action in the same spot, each step getting louder and louder. He picked up his head and met Stark's gaze.

"There's something down there," Cal said what they were both thinking.

They both snapped into action. Cal sidestepped the area, and, together, they moved loose grass, dirt, and other foliage. Stark and Cal stepped back after they cleared everything, and had revealed something that wasn't part of nature.

A steel door.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Well, what do you think? Please let me know in a review. :)


	7. Power Struggle

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the long wait, but hopefully this chapter was worth the wait? Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

**The Warehouse**

Damien scanned the room, his brown eyes studying every inch of space and person. Dallas and Nicole stalked around to each group, keeping a close eye on all of them. They weren't being that subtle; he was sure Dallas purposely walked into Rephaim a few minutes ago. The raven mockers were still, menacing shadows along the wall, as opposing as ever.

He moved his legs around so they wouldn't get cramped and leaned back against the wall. His eyes moved over to the doorway, where Kalona and Selene were standing, talking in fervent whispers. Since he and Hunter were sitting closer to the door than most of the others, he could understand mostly all of what they were saying.

"I did what I did to regain control of the situation," Kalona defended his actions from earlier. "You were losing them."

"I had them well in hand," Selene argued, crossing her arms over her chest. "You need to reign in your temper. Remember, Giomanach stays alive, no matter who else is sacrificed. It's part of the deal."

"As long as you remember," Kalona compromised, leaning his hand against the door frame. "The Red One and my son are off-limits as well."

Selene leaned in closer, not taking lightly to his threats. "Careful, or someone might think you're going soft," she hissed at him.

"I'll show you how soft I am, when I snap your son's neck," Kalona threatened.

Selene's eyes flashed red with anger. "Stay away from my son!" she seethed. Then, she pushed past him, stalking across the room.

Hunter had been listening, too, and sat back, letting this news sink in. Damien leaned forward on his legs again, his hands sliding down his face and then clasping them together in his lap. "We're not going to survive much longer if they keep battling like this."

"No, we won't," Hunter reluctantly agreed, sighing. He lifted his right leg and hooked his hands behind his knee. "At least, you won't."

Damien cocked his head at Hunter, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Selene said Giomanach stays alive. That's my coven name," Hunter explained, looking at the floor.

Damien nodded absently. He was in full thinking mode now. "Why are you, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim being saved?" he questioned.

"I don't know," Hunter mumbled, pinching the concrete floor. Then, he picked his head up and looked Damien squarely in the eye. "But I won't allow myself to be saved, while everyone else dies." They bent their heads together and began to hatch a plan.

**X**

"So, that's it then? We're going to die," Erin whispered, shuddering closer to Robbie. They had also overheard Kalona and Selene's conversation, since they were sitting on the other side of the doorway. Robbie pulled his arm out of her grip and half-turned so that he was facing her directly.

"I promise you I'll get you out of here," Robbie told her. "I won't let you die in here."

Erin smiled gratefully at him and took his hand, squeezing it tightly. "And promise me that, when all this is over, you'll take me out on a date?" she asked him, leaning closer to him, so that it seemed like they were in their own private bubble.

Robbie gulped, wishing he didn't have to deal this right now, especially considering the situation they were in. But if they were to make it out of here alive, Robbie couldn't lead her on anymore. "Listen, you're a sweet girl," Robbie started off and Erin's face started to fall. "But I'm in love with someone else." He glanced over to where Bree sat.

Slowly, Erin pulled her hand away from Robbie's and followed his gaze. "Her?" she asked, undoubtedly. Erin scrutinized Bree through narrowed eyes. "She doesn't seem like your type." She turned back to Robbie. "Next time, you might want to clue a girl in that your off the market. Do I look like Aphrodite? Hell no." Erin slid away from Robbie, crossing her arms across her chest.

Robbie just sat there with his mouth slightly open, dumbfounded. He had been trying to let her down gently, but she had made it seem like he had come on to her. Robbie glanced up at Bree again and saw that she was watching him. She gave him a smile and he returned it, wishing he could give her so much more.

**X**

Kalona and Selene had been talking furiously over by the door, neither one of them looked happy. _Maybe we'll be lucky and they'll kill each other, _Aphrodite thought, smirking. Then, Selene walked across the room to address Dallas and Nicole, and Kalona left the room. Aphrodite pulled her legs up to her chest, stretching her arms out on top of her knees. She flexed her hands examining her nails, pretending she didn't give a damn. She looked through her lashes out at the rest of the room. Mostly all the hostages were in panic mode. Someone had to keep a level head, or they might as well crush all hope right now.

"Looks like it's going to have to be me," Aphrodite muttered, sighing.

Kalona came back into the room, pulling Sky by her hair. He yanked her back over to Aphrodite and shoved her to the floor. Sky caught herself on her hands and knees, looking up at Kalona with fear and hatred in her eyes.

Kalona opened his mouth and spoke to Aphrodite. "Try to keep her in line this time, darling," he advised.

"I'm not taking responsibility for anyone," Aphrodite replied smoothly, staring straight at Kalona.

"Just try, darling," Kalona cocked his head, smiling. Then, he walked away.

"Are you always this cool and detached?" Sky said. She sat back pulling her legs out from under her. Her eyes were still adjusting from being in the dark then to light again.

"This situation warrants it," Aphrodite replied back, watching Kalona sit down in his chair. "So,... where did they take you?"

"Uhhh," Sky started, looking at Aphrodite curiously, then forward again. "To this small dark closet at the end of the hall. Why?"

"Were there any other doors?" Aphrodite asked, ignoring Sky's question.

"There was one right before the closet they put me in," Sky told her, sitting against the wall beside Aphrodite and stretching her legs out in front of her. "I think it led to another room."

"Were there any other doors leading outside, besides the one we came in through?" Aphrodite asked again.

"Yeah, there was one out the back, I believe," Sky answered. She turned her head to look at the other girl. "What are you doing?"

Aphrodite arched a blonde brow, like it was obvious. "We need to know the lay of the land if we're going to escape," she whispered.

**X**

Alisa started to stir and Shaunee forced herself to focus on the helpless girl in front of her and not on the two quarreling leaders. The younger girl's eyes fluttered open seeming to register her surroundings for the first time since she'd been stabbed. She stared up at Shaunee in confusion, wondering why this strange girl was holding on to her. _It's okay,_ Shaunee mouthed to her. She wasn't sure how much Alisa remembered about what happened to her, but she didn't want the younger girl to be scared, just in case. It was in everybody's best interest if she stayed calm. Alisa's eyes widened as feeling returned to her. Then, all of a sudden, Alisa bolted upright, screaming out in pain.

"It's okay, Alisa, it's okay," Shaunee tried to calm the upset girl.

Darius leaned over and gently tried to push her back down by her shoulders. "Alisa, I know you're scared, but I need you to lie back down." he said in a quiet, but firm voice. "Or you're going to make it worse.

"It hurts," Alisa whimpered, letting Darius lay her back down. Tears leaking out the corner of her eyes and dripped down her face. "Make it stop, please, make it stop. It hurts."

"I will. I promise." Darius told her, brushing her black hair out of her face.

"Darius," Shaunee breathed.

At the sound of alarm in Shaunee's voice, Darius looked down at Alisa's stab wounds. They were bleeding faster than they were before. Acting fast, Darius placed pressure on Alisa's stomach and Shaunee, not needed to be told what to do, did the same to Alisa's lower back. Alisa grunted at the sudden, intense pressure on her body.

Darius looked up at Selene, who had moved closer during Alisa's initial scream. "We need a first aid kit!" Darius said, his temper flaring.

"But you seem to have everything well in hand," Selene replied, her blank expression unchanging.

Darius bit back a sharp retort and instead said, "If we can't give her proper treatment, then she's going to bleed to death." He'd lowered his voice, so Alisa wouldn't hear him and get scared. "We need that first aid kit."

"No."

At the same time, Kalona spoke up from his chair. "Nicole, go fetch the first aid kit from the office for the good doctor," he told the red fledgeling. Selene snapped her head around to glare at Kalona. Kalona replied smoothly, "I'm curious to see how the doctor thinks he can save the young witch with a bunch of band-aids and aspirin."

Nicole left the room and returned a moment later carrying a red plastic first aid kit. The fledgeling thrusted it toward Darius, but Selene snatched it before he could take it.

"Say thank you," Selene requested of him, holding the box at bay. "Because this will be the last generous act I give to _anyone_." She directed the last part to the whole room.

"Thank you," Darius muttered as Selene handed him the first aid kit. He placed the kit on the floor and opened it. Darius tried not to make too loud an objection, knowing it would be futile, when he saw the sparse supplies inside. Shaunee watched him carefully the whole time. Having to make do, Darius pulled out some gauze and medical tape.

"We're going to have to act fast," Darius instructed Shaunee. "When I say so, I need you to remove my jacket from the wound. What she really needs is stitches, but I'll do my best with this gauze. Whatever you do, make sure you keep pressure to that other wound." Shaunee nodded as she understood.

When Darius said, Shaunee removed the coat and he secured the gauze tightly with the medical tight. Then, he added more gauze on top. Alisa grunted again as he stomach was pulled tight. Like a well-oiled machine, Shaunee and Darius did the same thing to the other wound. Afterwards, they were able to move Alisa to her back, so that she would be more comfortable.

"So, that's it then?" Shaunee asked Darius as he put everything back in the first aid kit. "She's going to be okay now?"

Darius sighed. "I wish I could say she will be," he said truthfully. "But I just don't know." He sat back and stared down at Alisa. Shaunee looked down at Alisa too, who was staring up at her with pain and fear in her eyes.

**X**

Bree and Stevie Rae watched Shaunee and Darius attend to Alisa. It was sickening how Selene and Kalona were barely allowing Alisa to get proper care. Bree sighed, her head falling into her hands. She sighed again, and pushed her hand through her hair.

"This is my fault," Bree said, without taking her eyes off Alisa.

Stevie Rae opened her mouth to disagree, but Bree blundered on. "Alisa and Mary K. shouldn't even be here. Robbie and I should have went looking for Morgan by ourselves. I shouldn't have brought them along."

"You couldn't have known this was going to happen," Stevie Rae tried to tell her in a whispery tone, though she could feel Kalona's amber eyes on her.

"Still, I should have insisted they stay at the house," Bree whispered, leaning her chin in her palm and tracing figure eights on the floor.

They both jumped when Kalona joined their whispered conversation. "Don't be so hard on yourself, we all can't be telepaths," he reassured Bree, with a smile. Bree kept her eyes down at the floor. Kalona reached out to stroke Stevie Rae's blonde curls, but Stevie Rae slapped his hand away. Kalona grabbed her hand just as fast, bringing it to his mouth and locking his eyes on hers. Rephaim jerked in his spot.

"I'd be careful of who you slap around," Kalona warned her, still smiling. "Not everybody is as tolerant as me." He kissed the back of Stevie Rae's hand and then allowed her to take her hand back.

Rephaim leaned over as far as he could, to whisper to Stevie Rae. "You alright?" he asked.

She nodded, a grateful smile on her lips. Rephaim reached his hand to her, and she took it in hers, squeezing his hand. "I lo-" he started to say, before Kalona pushed their hands apart with his foot.

"Shush," Kalona ordered. "That's enough of that."

Stevie Rae smiled at Rephaim, then her attention was pulled back to Alisa. The smell of the blood was just too strong. Bree moved closer to her and leaned in to whisper, almost inaudibly.

"Good job," Bree praised, and Stevie Rae was confused for a second. Then, Bree finished, "Though, next time, aim for his face."

**X**

"I hope it's quick," Mary K. murmured, mostly to herself. She sat on the other side of Kalona, her legs pulled up to her chest. Her eyes never left Alisa, or what she could see of her.

"What?" Jack looked at her quickly, from his place next to her.

"When they kill me," Mary K. elaborated in a whisper. She rested her chin on her knees. "When they do it, I hope they do it quickly and don't drag it out like they're doing to Alisa."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Jack said to her, touching her arm gently.

"Well, it's true, isn't it?" Mary K. replied, looking at him. "I already have six demerits, four more and I'm dead." Her voice wavered at the end, but no tears came this time. It seemed like she was all out of them.

"Shh," Kalona shushed them, his amber eyes staring forward.

Mary K. flinched and they both lapsed into silence. She drew lazy circles on her ankle with her finger. Jack shifted beside her until he was facing her directly. Mary K. didn't look at him, she just kept looking down at her shoes.

"You're not going to die, alright?" Jack whispered. When she stayed quiet, he continued, "We're going to find a way to get out of here. You'll get to see your mom and dad again. No one's gonna die."

Mary K. looked up at him then. She saw her own fear staring back at her in Jack's blue eyes. "How can you be so sure when you're just as scared as I am?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I have to believe we'll make it out of here," Jack said, sincerely. "Because if I sit here drowning in my fear, I will die, but if I stay calm I may be able to save myself and others."

Mary K. listened to him, admiring his bravery.

"That is very honorable, young fledgeling," Kalona said, inserting himself into the conversation. Jack looked up at Kalona and Mary K. looked back down at the floor. Kalona spoke the next part louder, so that everybody in the room could hear him. "But didn't your mama teach you never to lie to a lady. There is no hope, you all _will_ die."

"Finally, something we both can agree on," Selene added, with smile.

**Cal and Stark**

Stark paced back and forth, shifting his bow from one hand to the other. Cal had explained that there were sigils drawn on the steel door, locking it. So, Stark waited impatiently as Cal used his witchly powers to unlock the door.

"Can you at least stand still?" Cal said with an edge to his voice. "You're distracting me."

"Can you hurry up?" Stark shot at him, but stopped pacing anyway. "Every second we waste up here, is a second Zoey doesn't have. I have to get in there."

Cal sighed and went back to dismantling the sigils. There were a lot of them, and it took most of Cal's energy to concentrate and not make any mistakes. He moved his athame swiftly and surely, breaking apart each sigil until they no longer glowed an iridescent blue. When Call finally finished the last one, he rolled his head, stretching out his neck.

"Done," Cal announced. He gave the handle a tug, and the steel door lifted open.

They studied the deep, dark hole. Stark dropped to his knees, right away feeling around the edges of the door frame. He found the top rung of a metal ladder. He smiled triumphantly. "There's a ladder here," he said out loud to Cal. Without any further words, Stark took hold of the ladder and swung himself around, his feet finding the rungs of the ladder in the dark.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Cal stopped him, before he was halfway through. "You're just going to jump in with both feet, without knowing what's down there?"

"Zoey's down there," Stark stated, with certainty. "I'm going to get her."

Cal sighed as Stark continued down the ladder and climbed down after him. The hole was deeper than either one of them originally thought and soon Cal couldn't see the opening anymore. They were both shrouded in total darkness.

"Ouch, that's my hand," Stark hissed through the darkness. "Don't be that close."

"Sorry," Cal muttered, stepping back up to a different rung. He waited until he was sure Stark was farther down and then continued downward. They climbed a little longer and then Cal heard Stark land softly on the ground below. Cal landed beside him.

They stood in what appeared to be a very long hallway. With a faint, flickering glow down at the end. Cal took a deep breath. "Well, this is it," he said, glancing at Stark from the corner of his eye. "There's no going back now."

"Yep," Stark replied. Breathing deep, he took out an arrow and hitched it to his bow, preparing for anything. "Let's go."

Cal followed behind Stark, keeping his footsteps light. With his magesight, he could see everything, including Stark, stalking through the dark hallway with his bow and arrow like an ancestral predator. The hall ended in a large, empty room with a long, mahogany table in the center. A lit candelabra sat flickering on the table. At the sight, Cal got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You may not like this, but," Cal broke the silence as Stark started searching the room. "This is either a trap or they're long gone."

Stark stopped and stared at him. "Zoey is here, I can feel it. She's still here." he told him. Stark looked around just then, an anxious look on his face. "Something's wrong though, I have to find her."

"Then we're about to walk into a trap," Cal stated as Stark started pacing the room again. "Think about it. They wouldn't leave the girls alone, unprotected." Just as he said that, both Cal and Stark heard a noise come from the opposite hallway. It was two, loud croaking sounds.

They looked at each other with the same expression on their faces. "Looks like they're not alone," Stark said. They crept toward the hallway, slowly. This hallway was shorter than the other, and, soon, it split off into two hallways, one leading left and one leading right. These hallways were relatively well-lit with torches on the wall in even intervals. There were also footsteps down both halls. They heard the croaking sound again, and they knew they were raven mockers.

Cal leaned forward, peeking down the right hallway at one raven mocker, who currently had its' back to them. "This just got harder," Cal replied. "How are-"

Before Cal could finish, an arrow flew by his face into the raven mocker's heart through the back. The raven mocker crumpled to the floor. Cal's eyebrows rose in surprise as he turned to look at Stark. "Nice shot," Cal observed, a bit impressed.

"Thanks," Stark nodded. He pulled out another arrow and took out the other raven mocker before it saw what had happened to the first one. They listened for anymore footsteps, but there weren't any.

"Ok," Cal began, his hands on his hips. "The girls have to be down one of these hallways, either together or separate. We need to be careful, just in case my mother and whatever minion she has this time is down there, too,"

"Alright, you go that way and I'll go this way." Stark pointed Cal to the right hallway and himself to the left.

Without another word, Cal hurried down the right passageway. Stepping over the prone form of the raven mocker, briefly musing over Stark's ability to kill the creature in the dark, from more than twenty feet away and with only one arrow. The passage ended at a large, steel door. Cal crept forward, sensing a presence on the other side. He put his hand on the door knob, expecting resistance but finding none. It opened slightly.

_It could be a trap,_ was the last thought Cal had before he pushed the door open all the way. There were two sconces on the wall holding lit candles, but they barely gave off enough light in this small room. Cal could still make out the slumped figure in the chair in the middle of the room and he knew immediately that it wasn't Morgan.

The girl was about Morgan's age, but she had long, black hair with blue markings outlining her face. _Zoey, _Cal thought, remembering what Stark had said. Zoey's hands were bound behind her by a billowing mass of darkness, same with her ankles. Cal had never seen such a thing before, but he knew he had to try to get her out of here. He crept toward her and realized she hadn't moved since he came in.

"Zoey," Cal said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder and gave it a small shake. Her head lulled to the side and her eyelids flickered, but she didn't wake up. "Zoey, wake up. We have to get out of here." Cal tried again and this time Zoey's eyes flickered a few more times before they finally opened.

It took a minute for her eyes to focus on him, but once they did, Zoey tensed and shrank away from him. Cal dropped his hand. "It's okay," he told her. "I'm not going to hurt you. Your warrior is here, too. Stark."

"Stark's here?" Zoey voice came out as a dry rasp, but she sat up straighter, suddenly alert.

"Yeah," Cal said, distractedly. He was staring at the darkness binding Zoey's hands and ankles. He had never seen anything like it before, and wasn't sure how he was going to get Zoey free. There was only one thing Cal could think of, but he had never done anything like it before, there was no way he would know what the consequences could be. He had to try, though.

Cal took out his athame and he saw slight shudder go through Zoey at the sight of the dagger. He raised it and started chanting in Gaelic. Zoey's head snapped up. She stared at him, her eyes wary and full of suspicion. Then, the athame lit up with a blinding white light. That's when realization dawned on her.

"You're a witch," Zoey breathed. He couldn't tell if she was talking to him or just thinking out loud. Either way, Cal didn't say anything. Instead, he moved behind Zoey's chair and brought the glowing athame down in a swift arc. The light pierced the darkness with a sizzling hiss and it started to dissolve.

Zoey let out a small gasp when her hands and legs were suddenly free. She moved them, rubbing her wrists, and Cal caught the sight of more blue tattoos on her palms. Cal narrowed his eyes at her, wondering just what kind of vampyre she was and how powerful she must be. He shook his head, there would be time for questions later, they had to get out of here fast.

"Can you walk?" Cal asked Zoey, walking over to stand in front of her.

"Yeah, I think so," Zoey nodded, standing up slowly. When it was clear she wasn't going to fall over, Cal went to the still open door and peeked out into the hallway.

"Good," Cal said, looking back at her. "We didn't see anyone when we came in, but someone is bound to come back soon. We have to hurry. C'mon."

Cal led the way back down the passage with Zoey following behind him. Zoey barely glanced at the dead raven mocker on the floor as they passed. When they came to the split in the hallway, it was empty. No one else was here.

"Where's Stark?" Zoey asked, looking at him anxiously.

Before he could respond, two figures appeared hurrying towards them from the hallway ahead of them. Zoey hurried past Cal, having recognized one.

"Stark!" she exclaimed. She ran to him and Stark caught her in his arms. Cal averted his gaze, not wanting to witness this intimate reunion.

"Cal,"

It was only a whisper, but Cal heard it as if she had spoken out loud. He looked past Zoey and Stark to where she had stopped in her tracks. Morgan stood staring at him, so many emotions crossing her features. Disappointment. Sadness. Anger. Confusion. Cal wanted to go to her and explain, but they were running out of time.

"I'd hate to break up this love fest, but we do have to get out of here now," Cal said. Stark and Zoey pulled apart with Stark sending Cal an icy glare.

"He's right," Stark reluctantly agreed with Cal, looking at Zoey and then joined Morgan and Cal in his glance. "We're not safe yet."

Stark took Zoey's hand and led the way to the exit. Cal let Morgan go in front of him and he tried not to let the way Morgan kept distance between the two of them effect him. But it did. He loved her and he knew she had loved him once too. Cal had been hoping that seeing him here would remind her of that. He sighed and brought up the rear of the group.

They didn't encounter anybody or anything on the way out, making Cal wonder just what his mother and her allies were up to?

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><p><span><strong>AN:** Please review and let me know what you think. :)


	8. Another Victim Falls

**A/N: **I'm sorry for the long wait, but I think I'm getting better with updating more frequently. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

Zoey, Morgan, Cal, and Stark made it up out of the underground bunker at a fast pace, arriving back in the night air. Cal urged the girls to keep running for the woods as Stark sealed the door behind them and continued running. They made it into the trees with silence still behind them, but they still ran. When they had run deep enough in the forest, they stopped for a quick rest and to regroup.

Stark still couldn't believe they got the girls out without incident. He ran his hands over Zoey's dark hair and around her neck, cupping her head between his hands. "I still can't believe you're here and safe," he whispered, smiling.

Zoey smiled back, closing her hands around his wrists. Her eyes wandered around the area. "Where's Stevie Rae and the others?" Zoey asked, then her eyes widened. "Are they alright? Are they hurt?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that," Stark explained, shushing her. "They went looking for the warehouse, Stevie Rae's idea. She thought they may have taken you there." He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, and his hands slowly fell to his sides.

"Should we head back there, too?" Zoey questioned, turning to Morgan and Cal for affirmation, too. They were all in this together; they should finish it together.

Morgan, who had been watching the couple enviously, said, "That sounds like a good idea and that's where Hunter said he was going. I have a bad feeling something happened. But first," Morgan turned abruptly around to face Cal. Cal's heart nearly skipped a beat, this was the first time she had looked at him directly since they left the bunker. "What are you doing here?"

"He was helping me find the two of you," Stark supplied, coming forward.

"No, I mean, the last time I saw him, he was dead," Morgan explained, looking at Zoey and Stark, who narrowed his eyes. She turned back to Cal. "So, how are you here?"

Cal took a deep breath and decided to just say it. "Kalona brought my mother and I back to life," He held his breath, waiting for everybody's reaction.

"What?!" Stark was suddenly in front of Morgan, his bow and arrow aimed at Cal. "So, you're working for them?"

"No!" Cal said quickly. "No, I'm not. I don't want anything to do with my mother." He walked to a nearby tree and placed a hand on the trunk. "I told her I was leaving. I was planning on leaving town, but I just had to to see you again, Morgan. By the time I got to your house, you were already gone." Cal stared at Morgan, hoping she would believe him.

"Stay behind me," Stark told the girls, his arrow still trained on Cal's heart. He directed his next question at Cal. "Give me one reason why shouldn't kill you right now? Why should we believe you?"

"Because he died for me," Morgan spoke up from behind Stark. She didn't know why she said it, the words just came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

There was a tense silence as Cal and Morgan locked eyes for a minute, then Morgan hastily looked away. Zoey glanced between them, then cleared her throat. She stepped around Stark, though he tried to stop her. She placed her hand on his arm, lowering the bow.

"Okay, I don't know much of what is going on here," Zoey began, looking at Cal, Morgan, and Stark. She spoke to Stark. "But he came all this way with you to save us. He helped me get out of that room; he could have left me there. And, it is obvious that he's in love with her."

Stark held her gaze, and then flicked his eyes toward Cal. "He could have killed me when I was sleeping, but he didn't." Stark muttered, but Zoey still heard him.

Meanwhile, Morgan moved around both of them and walked slowly toward Cal. He followed her with his eyes, his emotions splayed all over his face. She stopped when she was just a few steps away from him. "Is it true?" Morgan whispered.

Cal nodded, "Yes," he said, in a whisper.

Morgan didn't know what to say. There was a time when she did love Cal, but that was before he betrayed her. And now, Morgan has found her murin beatha dan, her soulmate, in Hunter. She didn't know if she could believe what Cal was confessing. Cal had told her he loved her numerous times before and it turned out to be a lie. But now, there was something in his eyes that told her, he wasn't lying this time.

"You don't have to say anything," Cal said quietly. He brushed past her and cleared this throat. "Should we head back to Widow's Vale then?"

Zoey looked from Morgan to Cal and back again. She felt compelled to say some words of comfort to the other girl, but she also felt that it would be awkward, given that they didn't really know each other. Morgan nodded absently, in reference to Cal's question.

"Alright then," Zoey replied, with nothing else to really say.

Stark walked over to Cal. "If you are lying, I will put this arrow through your heart. For real this time." he whispered to Cal, so that Morgan and Zoey couldn't hear him.

"If I'm lying, I'll let you do it," Cal countered, with a glare of his own. They stared at each other for a minute, before Morgan interrupted.

"Do you hear that?" Morgan asked, frozen in a listening stance. They all stopped to listen, the sounds of the forest at night echoing around them. Then, came the distinct sound of pursuing footsteps, getting louder and closer with every thud.

"They've figured out that we're missing," Zoey stated, her voice low and with a slight tinge of panic.

"We need to move! Now!" Stark grabbed Zoey's hand and pulled her into a run. Cal allowed Morgan in front of him, and they, too, started to run.

Deeper in the forest they ran, with sound of pursuit directly behind them.

**The Warehouse**

Dallas walked into Rephaim for about the fifth time in a row, the last one was more of a shove than an accident. Rephaim just sat there, ignoring him and trying not to let it get to him. It wasn't working. Every time Dallas pushed him, he would grit his teeth in a glare. Dallas turned around again and made his way back to Rephaim.

"Dallas, stop it, alright," Stevie Rae couldn't help but blurt out, even though it caused both Selene and Kalona to look at her. Dallas, however, just feigned an innocent, who-me expression at her, and continued walking. "Knock it off. Please," she heard herself pleading.

"Stevie Rae, I'm fine," Rephaim whispered to her, so that she wouldn't cause a scene. She just gave him a look, telling him it wasn't okay. Dallas was back near Rephaim again, and, this time, he launched a kick straight into Rephaim's side. Rephaim fell forward to the floor with inaudible grunt. There was a collective gasp around the room.

"Dallas!" Stevie Rae exclaimed, but her voice was overpowered by Kalona's order:

"Dallas, other side of the room. Now. If you feel the need to kick something else, feel free to use our head witch as your target." Kalona stared long and hard at Hunter.

Dallas reluctantly moved on, for which Stevie Rae was relieved. It was then that she felt Bree's hand on her arm from when she stopped her from lunging for Rephaim after Dallas kicked him. Bree took her hand off Stevie Rae after she nodded, assuring Bree that she wasn't going to lunge after Dallas.

"What is his problem, anyway?" Bree wondered, whisperingly. She looked over at Dallas, who, even when he was across the room, still glared at Rephaim.

"It's my fault," Stevie Rae looked away from Dallas and Rephaim. Bree looked at her. "Dallas and I used to date. Then, I met Rephaim and..."

"And it's the classic old boyfriend vs. the new boyfriend," Bree finished for her, half-smiling to cheer her up as much as this situation warrants. Stevie Rae half-smiled back, showing her that she appreciated the gesture. Bree glanced around the room, then leaned into her. "Did you come up-"

Stevie Rae put a finger to her lips, pointing her eyes toward Kalona. Bree nodded in understanding. A minute later, Kalona stirred in his chair and stood up. "Be good, friends. I'm going to check on the rest of the hostages." he told the five hostages around him.

Both girls watched Kalona walk away, and then bent their heads together. "Ok, I'm not that good in hand to hand combat and my magick is being blocked..." Stevie Rae was saying.

"And I'm not that strong a witch, so...we need a weapon," Bree added. She casually searched the room with her eyes.

Stevie Rae searched as well. "But where are..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on Darius and the first aid kit beside him. Stevie Rae tapped the floor lightly to get his attention, which also got Bree's and Rephaim's attention, too. Darius looked at her, and she mouthed the work 'knife?' with a nod toward the first aid kit. He hesitated, touching the first aid kit questioningly, and then understood. Unfortunately, Darius gave a short shake of his head, telling her that there was no knife inside the box.

"Damn," Stevie Rae whispered, disappointed.

"Stevie Rae," Bree replied, with edge to her voice.

Stevie Rae turned her head to look at her, and Bree motioned to the floor behind her, almost under Kalona's chair. The metal pipe used to stab Alisa was lying just within reach. Bree and Stevie Rae shared a look.

Bree grabbed the pipe and gripped it close to her body, keeping it out of sight from Kalona and Selene.

**X**

Sky's eyes darted around the room, never staying on one thing for too long. She stared at Hunter, Alisa, Stevie Rae and Bree, and then, the red fledgelings scattered around the room. An idea was sparking inside her head, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to go through with it. Someone had to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the group. Sky turned to Aphrodite.

"You said before that all this blood had to be bothering them," Sky whispered. She gestured toward the red fledgelings, not caring if anyone saw her. She was done hiding, from now on all the fighting had to be done upfront.

"Yeah, and?" Aphrodite asked her, keeping her voice low, too. She glanced quickly at Sky.

"Well, I was thinking that a little more blood could set them over the edge," Sky looked at Aphrodite to see if she understood. She did. "We could use that as a diversion, and then-" Sky broke off when she felt a heavy gaze on her. Kalona stood across the room, staring at the two of them. He smiled a devilish grin when the girls met his gaze and started to walk over to them.

Aphrodite had to think fast in the seconds it took for Kalona to cross the room. She came up with some semblance of a plan. It wasn't that much of one, but it was something. "Follow my lead," she whispered hastily to Sky. Sky whipped her head around to Aphrodite, but Kalona was in front of them before she could get more information.

Kalona knelt down in front of them and addressed Sky. "Since that stunt you pulled with the knife, I've been very suspicious of you. What were you talking about with our dear prophetess here? Hmm." He raised his eyebrows.

Sky kept her gaze level with his. "Why would I tell you?" she dared to question.

Kalona was unfazed by her answer. "Well, if you don't, I'll kill your cousin over there," he said, with a light shrug of his shoulders. Sky's eyes flickered over to Hunter. "Well, what do you say?" Kalona asked.

I say we're all _ dehydrated _and we're not thinking clearly," Aphrodite butted in.

Kalona turned his head to her, his eyes narrowed. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah," Aphrodite continued, in her regular bitchy tone of voice. Sky smirked to herself understanding where Aphrodite was going with this already. The other hostages looked on in confusion. "I mean, I'm just so _thirsty,_ my throat is _dry._ I could _drain _a whole gallon of water."

Sky glanced around subtly, seeing a couple red fledgelings fidgeting. It was working. Her smiled faded, however, when Selene interjected, "Refreshments are off-limits."

Kalona chuckled and straightened up. "Relax," He spoke to Selene, but his eyes never left Sky and Aphrodite. "They are only trying to create a diversion by using our _friends'_ weakness against us. I must admit sending a bunch of immature red fledgelings on a blood rampage is a good way to do it." Kalona leaned down closer to Aphrodite, and continued in a whisper. "No worries, my dear, every fledgeling knows that if they shall step out of line, their fate will be worse than yours."

**X**

"I've been thinking," Hunter whispered to Damien, after he pulled his gaze away from Sky. "We've been sitting here for awhile now, and we still don't know why. But what if they don't want anything, they're just keeping us away from what's really happening?" Hunter looked at Damien to see what he thought.

"I bet Neferet is in charge of all this," Damien said his chin in his hand. "She had Ciaran kidnap Zoey, probably Morgan too. And Kalona and Selene are here to keep us away. Whatever they plan to do with Zoey and Morgan, they don't want us stopping it."

Hunter paled at the thought of something happening to Morgan. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He had to stay focused on getting out of here and saving Morgan. "So, these two really don't want to be here," Hunter replied, watching Kalona stalk from group to group, while Selene glared at him the whole time. "Which is why they're always at each other's throats."

They both lapsed into silence after that. Hunter's mind was going a mile a minute, searching for answers, and he could tell Damien was puzzling over everything too. He knew one thing for certain; they were all going to die here, except three. Himself, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim. Hunter wasn't sure why though, until he did. His eyes widened at the realization that Morgan would willingly turn herself over to her father if it meant keeping Hunter safe. The same must be true about Zoey. Hunter wouldn't let that happen.

"What are you thinking?" Damien whispered to Hunter, seeing that he had become lost in thought.

"They need Stevie Rae, Rephaim, and I alive for leverage over Zoey and Morgan," Hunter told him. "So that they'll cooperate with whatever they plan to do."

"Makes sense," Damien nodded. Then, he tapped a finger against his chin. "They have to meet up at some point and when they do, Kalona and Selene will bring you three with them, probably leaving the rest of us for dead."

"If you ask me, they should just kill them both right now," Dallas muttered, speaking of Stevie Rae and Rephaim. He stood behind Hunter, with his hands behind his back.

Hunter gave Dallas a look. "Strangely enough, we didn't ask you," Hunter retorted. He was tired of Dallas' attitude, and he'd already hated him for what he did to Sky.

"Don't antagonize him," Damien whispered just as Dallas swung down in front of Hunter. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were curved in a sneer.

"You're awfully smart for someone who is about to die," Dallas said. He raised his left hand, sparks crackling off his fingertips.

"Careful, your boss is watching," Hunter replied, seeing Kalona sitting back in his chair, eyes intent on them. Hunter tried to stay calm as he glanced once at Dallas' sparking fingers, but his heart was racing. All he could think was he had to stay alive for Morgan.

"Oh, I think he would approve," Dallas grinned and reached toward Hunter.

"Dallas!" Selene scolded, yanking the vampyre up by his collar. She pushed him toward the doorway. "Take a walk. I'm tried of hearing your mouth." When Dallas didn't move, Selene said in a much louder and harsher tone. "Go!" This time, Dallas did leave, but not before looking over his shoulder and giving Rephaim one last glare.

Hunter and Damien shared a relieved look. Suddenly, a shrill sound cut through the room, rendering everybody completely silent. Everybody glanced over at Selene as she pulled a ringing cell phone out.

She answered the phone with a hasty, "What?"

The voice on the other end was smooth and clipped. "The plan has been rewired," Neferet replied, "Keep them there until further notice."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Selene questioned, lowering her voice and turned her back on the rest of the room.

"Nothing I don't have control over," Neferet retorted. "It appears that the two of you failed to secure _everybody _in that warehouse. That insufferable warrior and that son of yours got past the guard and escaped with the girls." Her tone grew in anger with each word.

"Hmm, it seems to me it's you who has lost control," Selene mused.

"I do have control!" Neferet nearly shouted. "Just do as I say."

"Just as long as you understand my son is not to be harmed," Selene threatened. "Or the deal is off."

"I will do whatever I have to do," Neferet warned, straightforwardly. "And that means _anyone, _including your precious son, is expendable." The call ended with a click.

Selene's hand curled around the phone, gripping it so hard her hand shook. She didn't turn around to face everybody for a long moment. Kalona sat up straighter in his chair, sensing something amiss. "What happened?" he asked.

At the sound of his voice, Selene spun around. She kept her gaze level with his as she raised her gun and then she pulled the trigger. The gunshot reverberated throughout the room along with Stevie Rae's scream.

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><p><strong>AN: **I know, a big cliffhanger, but I'll try not to keep you dangling for too long. Please Review!


	9. Tech Support

**A/N: **I'm sorry to keep everybody waiting, especially with a cliffhanger like that, but I was finishing up my other stories first. Now, I'm ready to get back into this story and updates will be coming weekly. Enjoy the chapter!

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**Tech Support**

_**The Warehouse**_

The world seemed to slow down as Rephaim watched Stevie Rae fall backward in a spray of her own blood. Bree caught her before she could crack her head on the wooden floor, and laid her down gently. Rephaim couldn't hold back any longer, he lunged toward Stevie Rae at the same time he saw Darius move out of the corner of his eye. He took Bree's place by Stevie Rae's head, smoothing her hair back away from her face. Her eyes were glassy as she stared up at the ceiling, but she recognized him when he leaned over her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Rephaim shook his head.

"No, don't speak," he told her, picking up her bloodied hand and squeezing it. "Save your strength."

"That's right," Selene commanded the room. "Don't speak. Don't move."

Suddenly, Rephaim couldn't move, his body was frozen in an invisible cage. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Bree was frozen as well, her hands still over the wound in Stevie Rae's side. Rephaim guessed that Selene had put a spell over the whole room. He cursed silently to himself, each second they wasted was a second Stevie Rae didn't have. She could be slipping away right now. No, he wouldn't think like that, he had to be strong for her.

"I did not give anybody permission to move," Selene explained, her temper reeling. "There are plenty more bullets with that one came from. You do not want to tempt me."

"Like you've tempted me, darling?" came Kalona's voice. "We need to talk."

"Then, talk," Selene snapped at him.

"Eh, eh, there are some things that should not be discussed in front of our hostages," Kalona tisked as he stomped over to the doorway. "In the office. Now." He didn't wait for her to respond, he just swept out of the room, seething. Selene sighed loudly and reluctantly followed Kalona. At the last second, she flourished her hand and everybody was released from the spell. She stopped to whisper something to somebody in the dark hallway. After a second, Dallas came into the room with a sly grin on his face.

"Well, well, well, looks like I'm in charge now, boys and girls," Dallas announced, walking to the center of the room. He ran his gaze over each hostage. "Everybody back to your corners, now!" His eyes landed on Stevie Rae, and his face flickered with an unspoken emotion for a second.

Unbound from the spell, Darius had made his way over to help Stevie Rae. Rephaim still held her in his lap, and Bree sat helpless off to the side. Stevie Rae let out another cry of pain as Darius touched her wound.

"What can I do?" Bree asked, wringing her hands. Stevie Rae's blood was already starting to dry on her hands and she tried her best not to look at them.

"There's nothing really even I can do?" Darius regretfully explained. "The only thing we can do is try and stop the bleeding."

"We need towels then, right?" Rephaim stammered, tripping over his words. He was so worried for Stevie Rae, he almost couldn't see straight. He pushed a blond curl off her cheek and tried to give her a reassuring smile. It came out faltering. Stevie Rae reached up slowly with a shaking hand and grasped his hand.

Knowing there was little chance of finding towels in this place, as if the powers that be would allow them to go look, Bree unzipped her soft pink sweatshirt, slipping it off her shoulders. "Will this help?" Bree asked, handing the sweatshirt to Darius. "I have no fond attachments to it." She tried for a laugh, but it only came out as a gasping intake of breath.

Darius smiled gratefully at her as he took the sweatshirt. He pressed the article to Stevie Rae's gunshot wound, pressing hard to stem the blood flow, a temporary solution. A small whimper escaped Stevie Rae's lips and her body tensed away from the pressure. Rephaim gripped her tighter.

"You're hurting her," he told Darius.

Darius gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Rephaim," he apologized. "But we have to stop the bleeding, and without any drugs, it's not going to be pain free."

Rephaim touched his head to Stevie Rae's, whispering apologies.

At that moment, Dallas broke out of his reverie and stalked over to them. "Ok, doc, your time is up," he said, dragging Darius away from Stevie Rae. He barely had enough time to protest that they need to keep pressure on the wound. Bree fumbled to take over what Darius had been doing. Dallas pushed Darius away, from both Stevie Rae and Alisa.

_Hunter, what are we going to do? _Sky thought to her cousin as she sat rigidly against the wall, her arms crossed. Hunter tore his gaze away from the wounded Stevie Rae and looked at her, shaking his head a little. He didn't say anything back to her, but he didn't have to. She already knew what he was feeling, because she was feeling the same way. Hopelessness. Sky let out a slow breath.

"This is getting out-of-control," she muttered out loud. "We're all just sitting ducks."

Aphrodite stared levelly at Dallas. "Selene and Kalona are out of the room," she stated. "I think it's time we did something effective."

Sky's head whipped around to face her. "What?"

Aphrodite was already standing up, heading for Dallas. "Hey, Electra-boy!" she called. The raven mockers and red fledglings grew to attention, taking a few steps toward the prophetess. Dallas only turned around slowly with an amused look on his face. The other hostages looked on in fear and curiosity.

"Aphrodite, sit down," Darius told her, quietly.

"You want a more up close view of myself," Dallas grinned, disgustingly. He quickly wrapped his hands around her neck, nearly picking her up off the floor. "Sorry, babe, I'm not in the mood right now. So, I think it's time for you to go back-"

"THAT WAS NOT YOUR CALL TO MAKE!"

The booming voice echoed through the hallway and reached the hostages in their room. Everybody jumped, startled, and stared toward the doorway. The atmosphere was no different inside the office-like room. Selene paced in front of the large boarded up windows, while Kalona stood on the other side of the large, oak desk, his wrath coming off him in waves.

"I don't know why you're so angry," Selene shrugged her shoulders, speaking just as loudly. "They're all just hostages."

"I warned you that that girl and my son were off-limits!" Kalona shouted.

"Sentimentality has made you lose focus," Selene pointed out, crossing her arms. She stepped closer to the winged immortal. "The point of a hostage is to die for our cause, anything more is just a waste of time. Now, I suggest you get your emotions in check, and remember what it is we're here to do."

Kalona glared at her, taking a step forehead. "You stand here playing the part of the emotionless leader," he accused. "but _you_ were the one who melted with sentimentality at the mere mention of _your son _in danger."

Selene pursed her lips together and turned her back on him. She admitted to herself, that she had let down her guard and let her emotions rule her head. That couldn't happen again, she had to stay cool and detached. It was the only way that would insure her that both her and her son would get out of this alive. But first, Selene had to make sure that she found Cal before Neferet did.

Kalona stood with his hands on his hips, his anger cooling. He became rational and detached again. "Ok, so, Zoey and Morgan have escaped," Kalona talked it out. "The first thing they're going to do is come looking for these guys," He nodded his head toward the other room. "Of course, Neferet probably already knows that..."

Composed, Selene turned back around to face Kalona and approached the desk. "We'll be waiting for them when they do arrive." She tapped her fingernails on the top of the black laptop sitting on the desk. "We'll need a little assistance from the technical one. Would you please go fetch him for me?" She smiled sweetly at him.

Kalona glared at her, but didn't answer. He walked the few steps over to one wall, opening up a cabinet that hung there. He took something out and spun back around on his heel. "I will _fetch _the young man," Kalona acquiesced. "But if you order me around one more time, _I_ will kill your son." Having said the last word, he strode out of the office without a backward glance.

Kalona strode back into the hostage room, into the scene unfolding with Dallas and Aphrodite. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" he said, rhetorically. "Was it bad behavior or did you just get bored and decided on some torture?" Neither one of them answered, and Kalona pulled Aphrodite out of Dallas' grip. "You are becoming a nuisance, darling. I'm running out of tolerance for you." He pulled her back over to Sky and pushed her down. "Now, sit down, or I'll hand you over to my trigger-happy other half."

He walked away without another word. Next, Kalona approached Bree, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim. The group was a little bit more calmer, not by much. Bree kept pressure on the wound, and grew tense at Kalona's nearness. He dropped the bandages and gauze in Bree's lap. She jumped, startled. Rephaim glanced up at his father, surprised. Stevie Rae just stared at the ceiling, glassy-eyed, trying to take even breaths.

"Here, fix her up," Kalona explained. Then, he took Rephaim's arm and dragged him away from Stevie Rae back to his old spot. Kalona whispered only to him. "Don't fight me." Rephaim looked at him, confused.

Kalona acted like he didn't say anything. He just took one step over, to stand in front of Mary K and Jack. Mary K cowered more into herself, avoiding Kalona's eyes. Jack reluctantly met Kalona's gaze, trying for bravery.

"It appears that your services are needed," Kalona stated.

"What?-" Jack started to ask. Kalona interrupted him when he pulled him up by his arm. Mary K cried out and tried to grab Jack to protect him but she shank back at Kalona's stare. Jack gave her an apologetic look for having to leave her alone, and relinquished to Kalona's pull.

"If any of them causes any trouble while I'm gone, kill them," Kalona instructed the raven mockers and red fledglings. "We don't need _all_ of them alive." He left the room with Jack in tow.

Damien watched Jack leave the room, worriedly. Hunter, however, watched them with curiosity. "Something's happened," Hunter whispered, still looking at the doorway. "Their plan is starting to unravel and they're trying to cover their tracks." He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head slightly to look. Darius was just taking the rest of the bandages and gauze from Bree, he glanced up briefly at a nearby red fledgling. When they didn't move, Darius carried the supplies over to Shaunee for Alisa's wound. Then, he moved back to where he had been, by himself.

Damien rubbed his hands down his face, blowing air out of his cheeks, trying to calm himself. "Kalona said that they needed Jack's expertise," he whispered back to Hunter. "Jack has an affinity for technology. He's a genius about it. What could they want him for?" He sat with his chin on his hand, puzzling over the situation.

"I think Selene received a phone call about Morgan and Zoey escaping," Hunter replied. His arm dropped onto his raised knee. As happy as he was to know Morgan had escaped, he was still afraid for her because she was still in danger. "Maybe they need Jack to track them down. This could all be coming to an end very soon, whether we're alive or not."

"What do we do?" Damien asked, glancing over at Hunter.

Hunter looked Damien straight in the eye. "We get ready," he said.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**Morgan, Cal, Zoey, and Stark**_

After what seemed like an hour, they slowed from a run to a walk. The forest had thinned out around them and they could make out the shape of buildings in the distance. Morgan leaned her hand against a tree to catch her breath as she strained to pick up sounds of their pursuers. As far as she could tell, they'd lost whoever had been chasing them. She looked around at the others; Stark was stalking the edge of their little clearing with his bow and arrow, it was as if he were expecting an ambush, and Zoey stood looking flushed and just as out of breath as she was. Cal was a few feet away from her, shuffling through his backpack. After about a minute, Cal straightened up with three water bottles in his hand. He approached Morgan tentatively and held out one of the water bottles to her.

Morgan took the water bottle, giving him a small smile of gratitude. Cal, then, offered a water bottle to Zoey, who took it with a _thank you _of her own. They replenished their thirst from their run and regrouped. Stark came back toward them after scanning the periphery. He took the bottle Zoey had held out to him, taking a swig of water.

"Ok, you two are the ones who live here," Stark said to Morgan and Cal. "Where are we?"

Cal looked around helplessly, not recognizing his surroundings. It was up to Morgan then to get them out of here. She looked around a small feeling tingling at the back of her mind as if she had stood here before. Then, one of the buildings in the distance became clearer and her eyes widened as she remembered where she was. Excitement thrummed through her as Morgan realized that they weren't all doomed.

Morgan turned back to face the others. "I know where we are!" she said, excitedly. "We're in downtown Widow's Vale, behind Practical Magick. It's an occult bookstore, Alyce, the owner, should be there. She's also a witch, she can help us."

Morgan ran off in the direction of the bookstore before anybody could stop her. "Morgan, wait!" Cal shouted after her. He ran after her so that she didn't go off by herself.

Zoey was just about to go after the two of them, when Stark took her elbow. "Z, this is our chance," Stark said. "We need to break ties with them, and go find the others. We don't need to drag them into this."

She looked at him, confused, shaking her head. "Stark, they're already a part of this," Zoey told him. "We need to see this through to the end." She looked him squarely in the eye, persistent. Then, she turned and followed the path Morgan and Cal had taken. Stark groaned under his breath, but went after her without a doubt.

When they finally caught up to the other two at the front of the bookstore, Morgan was relentlessly pulling on the door handle and calling out for Alyce to open the door, despite Cal trying to get her to stop. Zoey realized why, when she saw the closed sign in the window. The store was dark and nothing moved inside. It was obvious no one was inside. Just then, a loud caw came from the sky.

Stark, who had been scanning the street for potential threats, had his bow up and arrow trained to the sky in less time than it took to breathe. It only turned out to be a crow, just a regular crow, but Stark kept his bow out just in case. "We have to get off the street," Stark told them. "We're too exposed out here."

"Urghh!" Zoey let out a frustrated groan, causing the others to look at her. "I keep trying to get Stevie Rae on her cell phone, but she's not answering. Stark, I'm starting to get worried. What if something happened to them?" Stark gave her arm a reassuring rub. Zoey pulled herself together and turned to Morgan. "Are we far from the warehouses?"

Morgan bit her lip, looking up and down the street. "I don't know," she answered. "We might not be that far."

Zoey nodded, "Let's go there, then." The others nodded in agreement. Maybe there, they'll be able to find something out about what was going on and find a way to stop it.

"Ok, then," Cal said, taking the lead. He started down an alley, going the back ways. "Stick to the shadows, everyone. We don't need to alert anyone to our presence."

"I'm not an idiot," Stark mumbled in response, taking the rear. He glared at Cal as he walked, anxious for when he could finally get rid of him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_**The Warehouse**_

Selene pulled Jack down the dark hallway of the warehouse to another door just a few feet away from the hostage room. Jack wanted to ask her where she was taking him or what she wanted from him, but fear constricted him, keeping him nearly paralyzed. Selene opened the door to the office, giving Jack a push inside. Jack stumbled into the room, but remained on his feet. He gulped, shakily, and turned around to face Selene, who was just closing the door. It was just the two of them in the room, alone.

Selene grinned at him, not reassuringly, and walked around to the desk. She pulled out the chair, gesturing to him. "Have a seat," she instructed him.

Jack watched her carefully, afraid that she could reach out and strike him at any moment. He moved over and sat down in the chair slowly. He looked up at her, warily waiting his next instructions. Selene patted him on the shoulder, praising him for listening. She, then, leaned over him and opened the laptop that sat on the desk in front of him.

"What do you see?" Selene asked him as she straightened back up and pointed to the computer screen.

Jack looked up at Selene, then at the laptop. He licked his lips, and said, "Um, it looks...surveillance footage." He was confused as to why she was showing him this, and what exactly she needed him to do.

"Very good," Selene replied. "Now, you are going to sit here and watch that screen. If anyone shows up on any of those cameras, you will tell me. You are not permitted to leave this room." Jack looked down just as Selene snapped a handcuff around his right wrist and the other end to the arm of the chair. She grinned at him again. "Any questions?"

Jack cleared his throat, quietly. "Wh-wh-," he stuttered, then tried again. "Who am I...supposed to be looking for?"

Selene leaned down to his level, one hand on the back of the chair and the other hand on the desk. "Your friends," she simply told him.

Jack gulped, having been afraid of the answer. He didn't like the thought of sending Selene and Kalona after Zoey and Stark. Selene saw his hesitation and quickly added, "And if you try to protect your friends, well then, one of your fellow hostages will pay the price. Do you understand?"

Jack nodded reluctantly, meeting her harsh gaze.

"Now, be a good little hostage, and follow my instructions," Selene added, one final time. She walked over to the door. "I'll be checking on you periodically. Behave yourself." With that, Selene swept out of the door and was gone.

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><p><strong>AN: **Did you like it? Let me know what you thought in a review. :)


	10. Breaking an Imprint

**A/N: **Anybody still interested in this story? If you're still reading it, please just let me know. :)

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

**Breaking an Imprint**

_**The Warehouse**_

Kalona walked around the room, his hands clasped behind his back, checking in on each group of hostages. None of them indulged in his light-hearted pleasantries, they all just glared at him. By the time Kalona made it over to Hunter and Damien, Hunter was ready to lunge at him, but he kept his cool. Provoking Kalona would only cause the loss of another innocent life. If they wanted to get out of here alive, they had to plan their moves and wait for the opportune moment.

"You've been unusually quiet," Kalona said when he knelt down in front of Hunter. "Nothing to say? Or are you just upset that your girlfriend is out there all alone and you're not there to protect her?" He pretended to sympathize for a moment. "Ah, no worries, we'll have her soon."

"If you touch her, I swear I'll..." Hunter ground out, through gritted teeth. He couldn't finish the sentence at the thought of Kalona anywhere near Morgan. His hands were in fists on the floor beside him.

"You'll what?" Kalona antagonized him, leaning closer.

Hunter shook his head, unable to form the words. His body seethed with anger and desperation, he was on the edge. It took everything in him to hold it back and not attack Kalona. But the very thought of Morgan hurt and possibly dying was enough to break the already thin line stopping him from doing just that.

"Just as I thought. Nothing." Kalona said, satisfied.

Hunter shook with another with-held emotion. Damien saw that he was about to snap, so he put his hand on Hunter's arm holding him back. He decided to distract Kalona away from Hunter. "Where's Jack?" he asked, honestly.

"Oh, he's happily locked away somewhere, working on a little project," Kalona answered, keeping his gaze on Hunter. "Don't worry about him." Lastly, Kalona smiled at Hunter and then stood up, turning around. His eyes zeroed in on the petite form across the room, very nearly bawling her eyes out. It was aggravating. Kalona walked to the center of the room.

It took Mary K a moment to notice the sudden stillness of the room and the looming presence above her. When she looked up, she gave a small gasp and shrank back. Kalona cocked his head as if he were confused by her reaction. Slowly, he knelt down in front of her. Mary K scooted back a few inches until Kalona seized her wrist and she froze.

"You don't look well, darling," Kalona said, sliding his hand up her arm, then tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Mary K flinched. "What's your name?"

Mary K's eyes darted everywhere except at the man in front of her as she swallowed hard. "M-M-Mary K," she stammered.

"Oh, what a beautiful name...for such a beautiful girl," Kalona cooed to her softly, his index finger sliding from her ear to her chin, along her jawbone. "Stand up," he murmured to her.

Mary K gulped, swallowing a sob, and stood up with Kalona. Hunter was watching the whole thing and couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't sit here and watch Morgan's sister get hurt. Hunter jumped to his feet, barely noticing Damien reaching out to stop him. "Leave her alone!" he shouted.

"Sit down," Kalona instructed Hunter, without turning or raising his voice. Hunter remained standing. Kalona returned to speaking to Mary K. "Tell me,...why are you crying?"

Mary K sniffled and wiped her tears away. She glanced briefly up at Kalona, then returned her gaze down at the floor. "B-because...I'm scared," Mary K admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Kalona tisked softly, shaking his head at her. "There's no reason to be afraid. We're all friends here," he smiled friendly at her or as friendly as he can be. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around to face everybody else in the room, as he stood behind her. "Now, let's tell Mary K that there is nothing to be scared of."

Hunter took a step forward. "Mary K, it's okay," he told her, calmly, sending a glare at Kalona. "No one is going to hurt you."

"Well, now, it's not lie to her," Kalona replied. He cupped Mary K's chin in his hand and lifted her face so that she was looking at him. "I'm sorry, darling, there is a chance that you will get hurt. After all, you do have six demerits. Another four, and, well..." Kalona trailed off, allowing Mary K to fill in the blank herself. She did, and her body starting shaking.

"Alright, we get it, you can kill us all," Robbie burst out, jumping to his feet, like Hunter. Erin, still clinging to his arm and wanting him to like her, stood with him. "Just leave her alone." Erin nodded. Then, showing an united front, Sky, Aphrodite, Darius, and Damien all stood as well. Those who didn't stand were the ones tending to Alisa and Stevie Rae.

"Well, well, well, it looks like we have a bunch of rebels in the room," Kalona chuckled, not in the least bit fazed. "What should we do about that, Selene?" He had his arm around Mary K loosely.

"_We _are going to stop this little game," Selene snapped, not even the slightest bit interested in playing along. She stalked over to Kalona, ripped Mary K out of his grasp, and pushed her back down. With a squeak of surprise, Mary K fell to the floor in a heap. "You need to stop playing games and making nice with the hostages and focus on the objective."

Kalona smirked at her. "Careful, your cruelty is showing," he responded back. "I am merely entertaining myself during these long, tedious hours." He reached out to run his hand down her arm.

Selene swatted his hand away. "Well, keep your amusements to yourself," she scolded him. She turned her back on him and addressed the rest of the hostages. "Now, sit down, before I decide to cut my losses and kill every single one of you."

One by one, the standing hostages lowered themselves to the floor, Hunter being the last one to sit down. Suddenly, Bree's voice rose above the shuffling, panic-filled. "Hey, hey, Stevie Rae, I need you to stay with me!" she said as the red vampyre's eyes drifted closed. "You need to stay with me, okay? Don't close your eyes."

Everybody's attention was drawn over to them. Selene crossed her arms and watched in amusement. Rephaim leaned over toward Bree and Stevie Rae. "What happened? What's wrong?" he asked her, a rising panic building in his chest.

Bree shook her head, scattered. "I don't know," she exclaimed, not knowing what to do. "I was just talking to her to keep her conscious...and then her pulse got really weak..."

"Get a body bag ready," Selene commented. "Looks like we have our first fatality of the night."

Rephaim squandered the urge to lunge at Selene, and focused on Stevie Rae. He scooted closer. "I can help heal her," he whispered to Bree.

Bree looked at him confused and doubtfully. "What? H-" she started to ask, then her eyes widened when she saw him rolling up his sleeve and moving his arm closer to Stevie Rae's mouth. Bree grabbed his arm, stopping him. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Stevie Rae and I are imprinted, a bond that happens when a vampyre drinks from another person," Rephaim explained to her, softly, gently taking her hand off his arm. "Blood drinking can help heal her. It won't do all the work, but it will help." Rephaim readjusted himself, lifting Stevie Rae's head, whose eyes fluttered open at the movement, and placed his arm underneath her mouth. Bree subtly turned her head, unable to watch. "Here, drink," he murmured to Stevie Rae.

"What do you think you are doing?" Selene interrupted, just as Stevie Rae was about to bite. She strode over to them. "We are _not _running an all-you-can-eat buffet." Selene yanked on Rephaim's arm until he relented and stood up.

"She's weak," Rephaim argued. "She needs blood and I'm the only one who can give it to her."

Selene looked at him, with an eyebrow quirked. "_The only one?"_ she questioned him. "I don't think so."

Rephaim was about to argue again, but figured it would be a waste of his breath. Instead, he looked to his father for help, begging him with his eyes to let him help Stevie Rae. Kalona didn't meet his gaze, only leaned up against the wall, preoccupied. Selene walked forward, pulling Rephaim with her.

"Do we have another volunteer to feed the bleeding vampyre?" Selene asked, looking around at the room of hostages. "Hm?"

"Please don't do this," Rephaim whispered to Selene, afraid that if Stevie Rae drank from someone else, then their imprint would break.

"I'm afraid I must," Selene smiled apologetically, but not, at him. She turned back to the rest of the hostages. "Anyone? I'm sure there's someone here who wants to save the young lady's life." Everybody sat quietly from their spots on the floor, not volunteering. It's not that they wanted Stevie Rae to die, it's just that none of them wanted to be a human blood bag. Selene took things into her own hands. "You," she said, walking over to Robbie. "You were so eager to get up before. You should have no problem with this."

Robbie looked up and shook his head. "No, thanks," he said.

"I wasn't asking," Selene replied, and pulled him to his feet. Robbie protested a little as Selene ushered him forward. He couldn't help but meet Bree's gaze as he approached, and her eyes were filled with fear, for him.

"Pick someone else, please!" Bree blurted out, pleading. "I'll do it, if you want!" Robbie looked at her sharply, dumbstruck that she actually thought that he'd let her take his place.

"No," Selene said, without looking at her. She took a pocketknife from her pocket and flicked it open with a swish. She grinned tightly at Robbie. "This may hurt a little." Then, quick as a flash, Selene slashed the blade across Robbie's wrist. Robbie let out a hiss of pain, but otherwise didn't flinch.

"Please, she could kill him!" Bree was still pleading.

"Well, then, that's one less hostage I'll have to deal with," Selene replied, matter-of-factly. She forced Robbie to his knees next to Stevie Rae, and held his bleeding arm underneath her nose. "Smell that? He's all yours, if you want to."

Robbie turned his head to look at Bree, and whispered, "It's okay." Bree shook her head, tears brimming her eyes.

Stevie Rae smelled the blood instantly and couldn't resist it, especially in her current condition. It wasn't as intoxicating to her as Rephaim's blood, but it was blood. Rephaim watched her desperately. "Don't do it," he muttered, just as Stevie Rae clamped her mouth down on Robbie's wrist.

Rephaim could barely stand to watch Stevie Rae drink from someone else and closed his eyes. Deep down, he was sure that he knew she was half-conscious, barely aware of what she was doing. She needs a lot of self-control around blood in general. Rephaim opened his eyes again, with determination. No, he wasn't going to let Selene or his father break them apart, but he needed to act first. He could already feel their imprint starting to tear.

Without thinking twice, Rephaim darted forward past Selene and slid to the floor besides Stevie Rae. He pulled Robbie away from her, and cradled her close to him. Bree scrambled over to Robbie and threw her arms around him. She tore off a piece of gauze and wrapped it around his still bleeding wrist, while Robbie slumped against her, face pale from loss of blood.

"Feel better?" Selene commented from behind Rephaim. Rephaim didn't say anything as he held Stevie Rae in his arms, but he could feel Selene's menacing presence behind him. Selene didn't say anything else to him, instead she walked away and dragged Robbie up with her, despite Bree's protests. After depositing the young man back down next to Erin, Selene strode over to Kalona.

"I'm going to check on our _friend _in the other room," Selene told him. "Please make sure the hostages behave themselves." Without waiting for Kalona's reply, Selene left the room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Jack sat in the office behind the desk, where Selene had left him, growing bored. He had been staring at the four security camera footages on the laptop screen for what had to be at least five minutes. Nothing, or no one, showed up. Jack placed his free arm, the one not handcuffed to the chair, on the desk, resting his chin in his hand. He didn't know what he would do if he saw Zoey or Stark appear in one of the cameras. He didn't want to get either one of them caught, but that would mean sacrificing one or all of his friends in the other room. Jack thought about Mary K, the girl he had been sitting next to for the past couple of hours. She was younger than him and looked so small curled up on herself and scared. She felt like a younger sister in need of his protection.

Suddenly, movement on the computer screen caught his attention and he sat up straighter. A dark-haired guy, not Stark, and pretty cute looking if you asked Jack, crept into view of the camera in the front of the warehouse. Jack looked up quickly at the door to his room, but it was still closed. He turned back to the screen in time to see Zoey and another girl with light brown hair appear as well. Stark pulled up the rear with his bow and arrow, looking like an ancestral predator.

The group paused to discuss something. Though Jack couldn't hear what they were saying, he could tell from the tense postures of the two guys that they were not in agreement. Jack held his breath for what seemed like an eternity until the foursome fanned out and, one-by-one, disappeared off screen. He had just released his breath when the doorknob started turning and then the door to the room swung open. Selene stood in the open doorway and one look at Jack's still shocked face, she knew. A gleeful smile split her face.

"You found them," she stated, matter-of-factly. "Congratulations Jack, you may have just saved your friends."

_Which ones?_ Jack asked to himself as Selene crossed the room in four strides. He swallowed hard and it felt like a ton of bricks landing in his stomach.

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><p><strong>AN: **Please review if you reading this story. :)


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